In 1955, 15-year-old Claudette Colvin refused to give up her Montgomery, Alabama, bus seat to a white passenger and was arrested.
But you probably haven't heard of her.
Nine months later, Rosa Parks made the same bold gesture and became a national icon. The difference? Colvin's story was covered only by the black press and was blatantly ignored by white newspapers.
“If journalism is the first rough draft of history, white newspapers were the first to write Colvin out of our nation’s history,” said Professor Matthew Delmont, director of the School for Historical Philosophical and Religious Studies.
In a new video, Delmont highlights the critical role of "the fighting press," and how that valiant effort laid the groundwork for today's social-media activism.
Top photo: "The Year They Walked," a monument to the Montgomery Bus Boycott at the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis, Tennessee.
More Law, journalism and politics
Law experts, students gather to celebrate ASU Indian Legal Program
Although she's achieved much in Washington, D.C., Mikaela Bledsoe Downes’ education is bringing her closer to her intended destination — returning home to the Winnebago tribe in Nebraska with her…
ASU Law to honor Africa’s first elected female head of state with 2025 O’Connor Justice Prize
Nobel Peace Prize laureate Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, the first democratically elected female head of state in Africa, has been named the 10th recipient of the O’Connor Justice Prize.The award,…
Native Vote works to ensure the right to vote for Arizona's Native Americans
The Navajo Nation is in a remote area of northeastern Arizona, far away from the hustle of urban life. The 27,400-acre reservation is home to the Canyon de Chelly National Monument and…