From Purex's Radio Topia, this is Radio Diaries. I'm Joe Richmond. We're proud to be part

of a network of some of the most unique, boundary-pushing independent podcasts out there.

And every year we ask for your support to continue the work we do. But this year, we

all wanted to do something a little different. And this episode is part of a special Radio

Topia Wide Project. Shows across the network are releasing episodes tied together by one

theme, Making Trouble. You can learn more and donate to support our work at radiotopia.fm.

And here's our take on Making Trouble.

Rosa Parks is one of the most well-known names of the Civil Rights Movement. Most school

kids in America can tell you that she was the one who refused to give up her seat to

a white passenger on a bus. Her arrest mug shot made her the face of the Montgomery

bus boycott. But the boycott could have had a different face. On March 2, 1955, nine

months before Rosa Parks, Claudette Colvin also refused to give up her seat to a white

woman on a crowded Montgomery bus. Colvin was arrested. She was 15 years old at the time.

For decades after a few people knew of Colvin's story, in recent years her name has become

a bit more recognized as efforts are made to remember the unsung heroes of black history.

And because she has recently returned to court to fight her original arrest charge six

decades later. We'll tell you more about that later. But first, let's go back to 1955.

Today on the show, The Teenage Rosa Parks.

My name is Claudette Colvin. And I was 15 years old when I was arrested for violating

the Montgomery segregation law. Well, that was the kind of teenager that wore my hair in

breeze. Everybody else was battling with a straightening comb and parmed me. I didn't

mind being different.

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