Claudette Colvin.
Heard of her? Have your kids heard of her? If you have kids in school right now learning about black history, would you encourage your child talking about Claudette Colvin? After all, you’ve probably never heard of her. Chances are neither have the teachers and professors who stand in front of the classrooms we all have sat in or have children sitting in right now – so what about her, right?
Rosa Parks.
Heard of her? Have you kids heard of her? If you have kids in school right now learning about black history, would you encourage your child talking about Rosa Parks? After all, if you grew up in the American school system you’ve heard of her along with the teachers and professors who stand in front of the classrooms we all have sat in or have children sitting in right now – so what about her?
These two brave females never met but in the same city, on the same bus system just a mere nine months apart, they did the exact same thing: Refused to move to the “colored” section of the bus – designated in the back. Only difference is, Claudette Colvin was the one who did it first and mind you she was only 15 years old when she did it. We’ve all heard of the bravery Rosa Parks displayed by not giving up her seat on the bus, but why is that if you take the story the way it is served up you’d be led to believe Claudette Colvin and others like her never ever thought of doing such a thing like not giving up her seat on the bus? Well to their credits, Rosa Parks was an adult and made a lot of noise publicly about what had happened. Claudette Colvin on the other hand was just a teenager and in all fairness probably didn’t know who to talk to about it. Eventually Miss Colvin ended up moving to New York where at that time there wasn’t any freedom marches taking place. It was all about Black Power. While Martin Luther King Jr. was the man lifting southern blacks to a place of equality through many battles and countless struggles, it was Malcom X in states like New York preaching an entirely different message. It wasn’t about “we shall overcome” it was about “we are overcoming because black is beautiful”
Where Rosa Parks recalled in later interviews that when she refused to move she was simply tired and didn’t want to get up out of her seat, Claudette Colvin, the brave 15 year old was studying what was then called “negro history” and felt inspired by the stories she read detailing Harriet Tubman and Sojourner Truth. It just goes to show that most people and things have an agenda. The NAACP at that time had an agenda and it wasn’t Claudette Colvin for whatever reason. None the less, it’s another testament to the fact that sometimes we only get “the truth, the partial truth and nothing but the partial truth”. Do your homework folks, educate yourselves and enjoy the rest of Black History month.
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Don't forget - tomorrow night a 8 PM in Seattle @ Neumo's i'll be opening for the legendary hip hop group Goodie Mob along with DJ Topspin and Helladope. Tickets are $20
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