Apparently there was someone before Rosa Parks, who refused to give up her seat to a white woman on a bus in Montgomery, Alabama. In 1955, a fifteen year old girl named Claudette Colvin wouldn’t give up her seat and was harassed and arrested, yet her story was never reported. However, a year after the incident she was called to testify with a group of women who included Rosa Parks. Thanks in part to her testimony she helped to overturn the segregation laws in Montgomery, Alabama. What I really liked about this book was that it was told by interviews from Claudette herself and others involved. She talks about her experience as well as meeting Martin Luther King Jr. and other well known civil rights leaders. In addition the black and white pictures were powerful and helped add to the authenticity. This book made me think back to all of the times that I taught about the civil rights movement. I had never heard of this story and after reading this book I definitely think I will be teaching this part of history a little different.
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