Before There Was Rosa Parks...
There was Claudette Colvin.
We all know the story of Rosa Parks; the African American woman who quietly, but firmly, refused to give up her seat on the bus for a white male rider because of Jim Crow laws (and, consequently, was the first woman to lie in state at the Capitol building upon her death).
Civil rights leaders launched a boycott of the Montgomery, AL bus system in response to the arrest of Rosa Parks, which had a 70% black ridership, causing huge financial losses.
But did you know that earlier that same year, Claudette Colvin took a stand against Jim Crow? Well, you probably do if you were educated in the United States. But I wasn't, so I didn't. Civil rights leaders considered launching their campaign at this time, and then decided a single, pregnant 15-year-old wasn't the right symbol for the cause.