Before Rosa Parks, another young lady refused to give up her seat on a bus, was arrested, and helped spur the Montgomery bus boycott. Her name was largely lost to history, but Èmilie Plateau has done her part to keep her memory alive in Colored: The Unsung Life of Claudette Colvin.
When she was only 15, Claudette got on her regular bus to go home from school. When she was asked to give up her seat for a white passenger, she refused. She was arrested, thrown in jail, and charged. Rosa Parks and other local leaders talked about a bus boycott, but they thought Claudette wasn't an appropriate public face of the boycott: immature and pregnant out of wedlock, they didn't want to invite additional criticism.
When Rosa Parks took her stand on the bus, she was 43, and as anyone who has heard her story knows, she was a saintly community leader, respected by both black and white citizens. So she became the face of the bus boycott. Claudette was forgotten.
Colored, simply illustrated and told, clearly reminds us of the deep sickness of segregation in the South. Even though it was just a generation or two in the past (Claudette and other figures in this story are still living), it seems like another world. Plateau reminds us of this history, while also pointing out the leading role that Claudette and other women had in the Civil Rights Movement. Leaders like Martin Luther King, Jr., and others were certainly inspiring, but while the called for equal rights for blacks, they certainly did not consider equal rights for women.
Plateau does Claudette a great service by telling her story, and does the rest of us a great service by reminding us of these heroes who risked so much to work for equal rights.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the complimentary electronic review copy!
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