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Askthejudge.info features regular updates from the news, important decisions from the nation′s courts, and online discussions with Judge Tom. Find out everything you need to know about youth rights, juvenile law and juvenile justice. AsktheJudge – Empowering youth one question at a time.

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February 22, 2016
Judge Tom
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Before Rosa Parks, there was 15 year-old Claudette Colvin

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claudette colvin

In March, 1955, Claudette Colvin’s class at Booker T. Washington High School in Montgomery, Alabama, was studying famous African Americans. She commented that “My head was just too full of black history, you know, the oppression that we went through.”

Claudette took the bus back and forth to school. She was fifteen when she boarded the city bus and took a seat in the front – in the”white” section. When asked to move to the back, she refused. Two police officers boarded the bus and dragged her off, handcuffed her and took her to jail. This was nine months before Rosa Parks did the same thing and became the symbol of the civil rights movement.

Claudette was branded a trouble-maker in her community and moved to New York City. She and three others challenged the local and state laws in Alabama that authorized segregation of the races on public transportation. The United States Supreme Court ruled in their favor, finding the laws unconstitutional in 1956 (Browder v. Gayle).

Claudette was later quoted saying that “When it comes to justice, there is no easy way to get it. You can’t sugarcoat it. You have to take a stand and say, ‘This is not right.'”  You can read more about Claudette’s case in “Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice.”

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The Author Judge Tom

Judge Tom is the founder and moderator of AsktheJudge.info. He is a retired juvenile judge and spent 23 years on the bench. He has written several books for lawyers and judges as well as teens and parents including 'Teen Cyberbullying Investigated' (Free Spirit Publishing) and 'Every Vote Matters: the Power of Your Voice, from Student Elections to the Supreme Court' (Free Spirit Publishing). In 2020, the American Bar Association published "Cyberbullying Law," the nation's first case-law book written for lawyers, judges and law students. When he's not answering teens' questions, Judge Tom volunteers with the American Red Cross and can be found hiking, traveling and reading.

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