Dec 17, 2021 - Politics & Policy

Civil rights pioneer has bus arrest record cleared

Axios

Claudette Colvin, 82, speaks alongside Civil rights attorney Fred Gray, left, during a press conference at the Montgomery County Family Court on October 26, 2021, in Montgomery, Alabama — Claudette Colvin with civil rights attorney Fred Gray during a press conference at the Montgomery County Family Court on Oct. 26 in Montgomery, Ala. Photo: Julie Bennett/Getty Images

Civil rights pioneer Claudette Colvin's 1955 arrest for refusing to give up her bus seat to a white person has been erased by a judge, per the Montgomery Advertiser.

The big picture: Colvin, who was then 15 years old, was arrested in Montgomery, Alabama, for challenging segregation on the Montgomery bus line — nine months before Rosa Parks was arrested.

She was convicted of assaulting a police officer during the arrest and placed on probation.
The 82-year-old in October filed a request to have the record of her arrest and probation erased. She was supported by city and county officials, including Montgomery's mayor and Montgomery County's district attorney.

What she's saying: "My name was cleared, and I'm no longer a juvenile delinquent at 82," Colvin told CBS on Thursday.

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Civil rights pioneer has bus arrest record cleared

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