Claudette Colvin, a pioneer in the civil rights movement, has died at the age of 86. As a 15-year-old, Colvin refused to give up her seat on a segregated bus in Montgomery, Alabama, nine months before Rosa Parks made history. Colvin was charged with assault and disorderly conduct in addition to violating segregation law. She later spent her life as a nurse’s aide caring for elderly patients. This is Colvin on Democracy Now! in 2013 recounting what inspired her to challenge Jim Crow.

Claudette Colvin: “'Why didn't you get up when the bus driver asked you, and the policemen?’ I say, 'I could not move, because history had me glued to the seat.' And they say, 'How is that?' I say, 'Because it felt like Sojourner Truth's hands were pushing me down on one shoulder and Harriet Tubman’s hands were pushing me down on another shoulder.’”

See our full interview with Claudette Colvin and our interviews about her over the years.