Module 12: Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice

Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice
by Phillip Hoose

Book Summary:

Most people are familiar with the historical event of Rosa Parks refusing to give up her seat on a bus during the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s which sparked the Montgomery bus boycotts and gave great momentum to the fight for equal rights for all people across the United States. However, this biography tells the story of a young girl who came before Rosa Parks, a young girl who was the first one to take a stand against the injustices of the Jim Crow laws in the South. Claudette Colvin, only 15 at the time, decided she’d had enough of unequal treatment. Claudette had survived many tragedies already in her short life, including the loss of her younger sister, Delphine, to polio and watching the injustices of the world around her as a school mate was sentenced to death for the rape of a white woman, whom he had never even met. Enraged by this injustice and empowered by a recent conversation in her English class, Claudette refused to move from her seat on a bus so that a white woman could have the entire row to herself on the afternoon of March 2, 1955. Although she was only fifteen at the time and acted passively by only refusing to give up her seat, Claudette was dragged from the bus, handcuffed, arrested, and placed in an adult cell in the city jail.

Although Claudette sparked the movement associated with the famous bus boycott in Montgomery, which led to her working with both Rosa Parks and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., it was decided that Claudette was not a suitable spring board for action. By the time of her trial, Claudette was a pregnant teenager, and it was thought that she would not present a positive image for the Civil Rights Movement. It is alluded to in the biography that Colvin was impregnated through the rape of a white man, just another tragedy in this young woman’s life.

On December 2, 1955, Rosa Parks was arrested for the same actions as Claudette Colvin, and this time African American leaders in Montgomery decided it was time to take action, leading to the famous bus boycotts in Montgomery. The biography of Claudette Colvin’s life details this period in time through the eyes of a teenager and young mother, and includes numerous first-hand accounts from Claudette. Hoose explains in detail the intricacies of the segregation and bus laws of Montgomery, Alabama in the 1950s as well as describing the social tension of the day. Eventually Claudette was a plaintiff in Browder v. Gayle, a lawsuit claiming that Montgomery and the state of Alabama’s segregation laws regarding public transportation were unconstitutional. Claudette recalls the joy she felt in this victory, and then the fear she lived with as the backlash of this ruling were made evident all throughout the South.

Hoose, P. M. (2009). Claudette Colvin: Twice toward justice. New York, NY: Melanie Kroupa Books/Farrar Straus Giroux.

My impressions:

This was an excellent biography, which kept my attention from the very beginning. I have learned about the Civil Rights Movement numerous times throughout school and in History classes, but I had never heard of Claudette Colvin. Her story was hugely inspiring, and I believe her bravery and refusal to accept something that she knew was wrong, even at a young age, could really motivate a young person. Hoose did an excellent job of explaining the laws and culture of the time period in a way that students who have not lived in a time where everyone wasn’t treated equally could really understand. Numerous pictures spread throughout the book add to the appeal of the book, and help the reader visualize the circumstances of the time.The bibliography and list of articles and websites at the end of the book also provide an excellent springboard for further research.

Professional review:

Gr 6 Up-- In Montgomery, AL, in March 1955, 15-year-old Colvin refused to give up her bus seat to a white passenger. She was arrested, and although she received some help from local civil rights leaders, they decided that the sometimes-volatile teen was not suitable to be the public face of a mass protest. Later that year, Rosa Parks sparked the famous bus boycott. Colvin was left with a police record and soon faced the additional problems of an unwed pregnancy and expulsion from school. In spite of those troubles, she consented to be named as a plaintiff in the court case that eventually integrated Montgomery's buses. Thus Colvin played a central role in the city's civil rights drama, but her story has been largely lost to history. Hoose, who had been curious about the often-unidentified teen who first defied bus segregation, persuaded her to tell her story. His book puts Colvin back into the historical record, combining her reminiscences with narrative about her life and the tumultuous events of the boycott. He includes background about segregated Montgomery and places Colvin's story into the context of the larger Civil Rights Movement. The text is supplemented with black-and-white photos, reproductions of period newspapers and documents, and sidebars. While virtually all students know Rosa Parks's story, this well-written and engaging book will introduce them to a teen who also fought for racial justice and give them a new perspective on the era, making it an outstanding choice for most collections.

Mueller, M. (2009, Feb 1). [Review of the book Claudette Colvin: Twice toward justice, by P.
     Hoose]. School Library Journal, 55(2), 120. Retrieved from
     http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/.

Nine months before Rosa Parks’ history-making protest on a city bus, Claudette Colvin, a 15-yearold Montgomery, Alabama, high-school student, was arrested and jailed for refusing to give up her seat to a white passenger. Hoose draws from numerous personal interviews with Colvin in this exceptional title that is part historical account, part memoir. Hoose’s lucid explanations of background figures and events alternate with lengthy passages in Colvin’s own words, and the mix of voices creates a comprehensive view of the Montgomery bus boycott and the landmark court case, Browder v. Gayle, that grew from it. At the center of the headline-grabbing turmoil is Colvin, who became pregnant during the boycott; and her frank, candid words about both her personal and political experiences will galvanize young readers. On each attractively designed spread, text boxes and archival images, including photos and reproduced documents, extend the gripping story. As in Hoose’s We Were There, Too! Young People in U.S. History (2001), this inspiring title shows the incredible difference that a single young person can make, even as it demonstrates the multitude of interconnected lives that create and sustain a political movement. Thorough chapter notes and suggestions for further reading close this title, which will find an avid readership beyond the classroom.

Engberg, G. (2009, Feb 1). [Review of the book Claudette Colvin: Twice toward justice, by P.
     Hoose]. Booklist,105(11), 49. Retrieved from http://www.booklistonline.com/.

Library Uses:

This book would be an excellent introductory piece on a Civil Rights research project. The librarian could introduce students to this book along with several other biographies about lesser known Civil Rights heroes and then guide the students to conduct research using the additional resources provided in the back of the book(s). Many of the articles and websites can be accessed through the school library’s subscription databases.