Book Review: Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Freedom by Phillip Hoose

Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Freedom
by Phillip Hoose (j Biography Colvin)

Are you on the search for a new historical heroine or hero? Countless people have been inspired by Rosa Parks and her act of civil disobedience that helped to spark the Montgomery Bus Boycott, but who inspired Ms. Parks? “Claudette Colvin: twice towards justice” helps bring better to light the story of one of the Civil Rights Movement’s founding mothers. Often overlooked due to a “bum rap,” Claudette Colvin was only fifteen years old when she refused to give up her seat on a Montgomery bus. She demanded her “constitutional right” a full nine months before Rosa Parks made a similar act of civil disobedience, so why is her story not better known? Although she was pushed aside by the adults of the movement, Colvin never stopped fighting for what she believed in: herself and her rights. Despite her poor treatment Colvin agreed to take part in the landmark case of Browder vs. Gayle. The resulting ruling against the city of Montgomery brought about the end of the bus boycott and desegregated the system, making Colvin twice the pioneer in the Civil Rights Movement.

[If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try Uprooted: The Japanese American Experience During World War II by Albert Marrin or A Few Red Drops: The Chicago Race Riot of 1919 by Claire Harfield. Both of these works also focus on race relations and facets of U.S. history which are not always commonly known or discussed. These titles are great resources for in-depth look into these American experiences.]

[ official Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Freedom page on the official Phillip Hoose web site ]

Recommended by Meagan M.
Walt Branch Library

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