Claudette Colvin

I found this book to be enjoyable to read and incredibly informative. Like Megan and Tara had mentioned, I had no notion that a young girl had protested the segregated buses before Rosa Parks. I'm surprised it hasn't been spoken about before because it is such an important message to get out to young people that everyone can affect change, no matter how old you are.

Claudette's story is such an interesting one because she didn't receive the same kind of rallying support that other adult protesters like Rosa Parks or Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. I really empathized with her as someone who felt abandoned and alone after her ordeal. Because she wasn't an adult I often got the impression that she wasn't seen as important as adults who were involved with the movement. I really felt for her when she got pregnant and how that affected her life and her involvement in the movement. It is never an easy situation and the way it was handled was probably not the best way to approach it in terms of Claudette's life.

I thought it was really wonderful that she had such overwhelming support from her family and her pastor. A lot of families would not have been so overwhelming supportive of their daughter and it made me feel grateful to know that she had people who cared for her. From reading other accounts, most African-Americans did not like the Jim Crow laws, but felt there was little that could be done to change it. And most were afraid to protest because of what might happen to them or their families. The book discusses some of the things that could happen if you spoke out like beatings, shootings or bomb threats. The book touched briefly on Emmett Till and I could see how that really hit home with Claudette - what happened to that young man could easily happen to her.

I really enjoyed hearing about Claudette's teachers and how much they inspired her. What they were doing was so progressive and forward-thinking in terms of educating young African-Americans in the South. They showed what it means to be a dedicated teacher - bringing in your own books when your school lacks the tools, integrating other aspects of history and culture into your English lesson, and even teaching a Negro History Week in 1955! Those are some impressive teachers!

While I think we got to hear more about her life before the the bus incident than is common, I still would have like to hear more about her life after the Montgomery buses were integrated. The book stops very abruptly and picks up again in 2005 when Claudette returns to Book T. Washington High School to speak. I would have liked to hear more about her life after that period. What happened to her family and Raymond? What about her life as an adult and what she continued to go through? In reading the epilogue I was disappointed that she hadn't been more involved with the continuing civil rights movement, or other cases of injustice like the Vietnam War or the women's rights movement. Why not speak out about other injustices, especially something that would affect her like women's rights? She stopped speaking and basically separated herself from all contact that might link her with the bus boycotts. In hearing about her later life, I felt disappointed about what happened to that strong, smart, proud young girl who stood up for what she knew was wrong?