Claudette Colvin: Twice Towards Justice by Phillip Hoose

Every once in a while, a book comes along that sheds an entirely new light on something you thought you already knew all about.  Such is the case with the remarkable story of Claudette Colvin: Twice Towards Justice. 

You may have heard of the Montgomery Bus Boycott of 1955-56 that was a pivotal episode in the struggle for Civil Rights for black Americans.  You may have even heard of Rosa Parks, the black seamstress who sparked the boycott by refusing to give up her seat on the bus for a white man.  (At the time, black people where required to sit at the back of the bus and to give up their seat if a white person wanted it.)

But you probably never heard of Claudette Colvin, and she did the exact same thing several months before Rosa Parks did!  While Rosa Parks' acts of civil disobedience had actually been planned in advance (another historical fact I didn't know before reading this book!), Claudette - sixteen-years-old at the time - spontaneously decided that she was just as American as any white person, and she wasn't going to move.  And, unlike Rosa Parks, Claudette Colvin went to jail for it!

So how come most of us have never heard of Claudette Colvin?  Part of the answer I just revealed to you: she was sixteen-years-old.  Have you ever not been taken seriously because of your age?  Have you been told you're "too young to understand?"  That's part of what Claudette faced.  Additionally, Claudette was the unmarried mother of an infant boy - not the image Civil Rights attorneys wanted to present to the nation.  Although Claudette's testimony was key in the court case that ultimately ended segregation on Alabama's buses, her name is all but lost to history.

Fortunately, Phillip Hoose has  helped to correct that situation.  In a fascinating look at life in America in the 1950s, and the politics of social change, the amazing and unsung Claudette Colvin finally gets her due.  An inspirational story of a true American hero.

With lots of archival photos and well-organized information, Claudette Colvin: Twice Towards Justice would be a great pick for any history buff!