This Is What Courage Looks Like

N1: Have you heard of Rosa Parks? In December 1955, she did something very brave.

N2: Back then, in Montgomery, Alabama, there were many unfair laws.

N3: One law said that black people had to give up their bus seats to white people.

N1: But one day, Rosa Parks stayed in her seat. She thought the law was unjust. 

N2: Rosa was arrested. She became famous for fighting for equality.

N3: But Rosa Parks was not the first to do what she did.

N1: Let’s visit Montgomery nine months earlier . . .

N2: It is March 1955. 

N3: In the South, segregation is still in effect. 

N1: Black people can’t live in white neighborhoods. 

N2: They can’t eat at white restaurants or attend white schools.

N3: Booker T. Washington High School is a school for black students. 

N1: Mrs. Nesbitt stands in front of a crowded class. 

Mrs. Nesbitt: Who can name a black hero?

N2: A tall girl with glasses raises her hand. 

Mrs. Nesbitt: Claudette?

Claudette Colvin: Harriet Tubman. She was a slave who escaped. Then she went back to the South and helped free more than 70 other slaves.  

Mrs. Nesbitt: Yes, she was very brave. All through our history, black people have fought for their rights.

Joan: Who is going to be the Harriet Tubman of today?

Dennis: Every day we are treated badly.

Eddie: At the movies, we have to sit in the balcony. 

Joan: When I shop, I’m not allowed to try anything on. Only white girls can do that. 

Claudette: Have you noticed how run-down our school is? 

Dennis: White kids go to nice schools with brand-new books. 

Mrs. Nesbitt: Now back to Joan’s question: Who will be the Harriet Tubman of today?

N3: After school, Claudette and her friends get on a city bus. They walk to the middle, behind the “whites only” section, and sit down. 

N1: The bus starts to fill up.

Eddie: We have to move. That white lady wants our seats. 

N2: Claudette’s friends get up. But Claudette does not move. 

Bus Driver: Why are you still sittin’ there?

N3: Claudette sits quietly. 

Bus Driver: Give up the seat! Don’t make me get the police. 

Claudette: I paid my fare.

N1: At the next stop, two police officers get on.

Officer 1 (to Claudette): You gonna get up?

Claudette: No, sir.

Officer 2: It’s not a choice. 

Claudette: I paid my fare.

Officer 1: Get up!

N2: Tears fill Claudette’s eyes. 

Claudette: It is my constitutional right to sit here.

N3: The officers yank Claudette from her seat. Her schoolbooks fall to the floor.

N1: One officer kicks her. 

N2: Claudette cries as the officers drag her off the bus.

N3: Claudette spends several hours alone in a jail cell. 

N1: Finally, she can go home. 

Mr. Colvin: What were you thinking, Claudette? 

Claudette: I was thinking of Harriet Tubman. I felt like her hand was on my shoulder, keeping me in my seat. 

Mr. Colvin: Those policemen could have really hurt you.

N2: Claudette’s mother puts her arm around Claudette.

Mrs. Colvin: I think you were very brave.

N3: Back at school, friends gather around Claudette. 

Dennis: I can’t believe you got arrested! 

Eddie: I would never have the guts to do what you did!

N1: For a while, Claudette is treated like a celebrity. 

N2: But then things take a bad turn. By not giving up her seat, Claudette broke the law.

N3: One of the policemen says she scratched him. 

N1: She is charged with assault and found guilty.

N2: Now her friends avoid her. 

N3: In the cafeteria, they take their trays and move away. 

Claudette: Where are you going? 

Joan: You made things worse for all of us. 

N1: Claudette eats alone.

N2: In December, 42-year-old Rosa Parks is arrested for not giving up her seat on a bus. 

N3: It is the same thing Claudette did nine months earlier. But this time, people are ready to join the fight. 

N1: Tens of thousands of black people in Montgomery boycott public buses. 

N2: They refuse to ride until the unfair laws are changed.

N3: Meanwhile, the Colvins speak to a lawyer. 

fred Gray: We want to fight the bus laws in court. 

Mr. Colvin: Do you really think you can win? 

Gray: I think we have a real chance. Claudette, will you be a witness? You can explain how you were treated.

N1: Claudette looks at her parents.

Gray: It won’t be easy. You’d be in the papers and on TV. Your family might get threats.

N2: Claudette is quiet, then lifts her chin.

Claudette: I will do it.

N3: The courtroom is packed

N1: Three judges sit up front. 

N2: Claudette is on the witness stand. 

Gray: Miss Colvin, what happened when you stayed in your seat on the bus?

Claudette: One policeman asked if I was going to get up. I said, “No, sir.” 

Gray: Then what?

Claudette: The other policeman kicked me. They dragged me out. I was crying.

N3: The judges listen closely. 

Claudette: They handcuffed me. They took me to an adult jail, even though I was 15. 

Gray: Thank you, Miss Colvin. That is all. 

N1: The lawyer for the city stands up.

Walter Knabe: Who told all the black folks of Montgomery to boycott the buses?

Claudette: No one. 

Knabe: But there wasn’t a problem with the buses before the boycott, was there? 

Claudette: Yes, there was. 

N2: Claudette sits up straight.

Knabe: I’m going to ask you one more time: Why did you stop riding the buses?

Claudette: Because we were treated wrong—like we weren’t even human beings.

N3: A month later, Claudette is watching the news.  

Newscaster: The decision in the bus case has come in. 

Claudette: Mom! They’re talking about our case! 

Newscaster: The judges have ruled that the bus laws are unconstitutional. 

Claudette: We won!

Mrs. Colvin: I am so proud of you, Claudette. 

Claudette: I will never stop fighting for our rights. 

N1: Like Harriet Tubman and Rosa Parks, Claudette had become a true hero.