What did you learn about Rosa Parks growing up? You may have learned, like I did, that she was a tired seamstress on her way home from work and when a bus driver asked her to give up her seat to a white person it was the last straw so she decided not to stand. Well she was a seamstress, but the true story is so much more exciting than that. Rosa Parks was a high ranking member of the NAACP and her actions were not only planned but part of a larger, multi-organizational strategy. In this episode we talk about all of the events leading up to Ms. Parks’ fateful decision, and one of the unsung heroes of the Civil Rights Movement: Claudette Colvin.   

Bite-sized Black History 

Bite-sized Black History is a program that empowers you to teach the little ones you love about brilliant Black Americans who have been largely overlooked by our history books. We featured 12 different people in Season 1 of the program and are featuring 12 all new Black Americans in Season 2. Season 2 is live, invest today!

Buy Bite-Sized Black History!

Montgomery Bus Boycott-Stanford 

 

Claudette Colvin: The 15 Year Old Who Came Before Rosa Parks

 

Before Rosa Parks There Was Claudette Colvin (NPR)

 

An Interview with Attorney Fred Gray 

 

Bus Boycott Took Planning, Smarts

 

Browder v Gayle

 

Song Credit: “Sleeper” by Steve Adams” and “Dive Down” by VYEN