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Into History.

com. It's March 2nd, 1955 in Montgomery, Alabama.

15-year-old Claudette Colvin boards the bus after a long day at school.

She finds her seat in the section reserved for black people.

The doors close and the bus starts to move.

Claudette gazes out the window and gets lost in thought, or mind swirling with

the day's lessons about the United States Constitution.

And as the bus continues along its route,

it makes periodic stops.

At every one it fills with more passengers

until at the next stop, all the seats for white bus riders are taken.

The bus stands still and Claudette catches the glaring eyes of the driver looking at her and her black friends in the rearview mirror.

She knows that he's waiting for them to give up their seats.

Claudette's classmates receive the message and move, but Claudette doesn't budge.

Exasperated, the bus driver hails a traffic officer.

The officer boards the bus and walks down the aisle to Claudette, demanding to know why she isn't moving.

Claudette replies firmly that she's paid her fare and it's her constitutional right to sit here.

The police officer scoffs then walks away. As a traffic cop he can't make

an arrest so he goes to find officers who can. Soon two new men approach Claudette and once

...