IV 
117TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. RES. 944 
Honoring the life and courage of Claudette Colvin. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
FEBRUARY 25, 2022 
Mr. LAWSON of Florida (for himself, Ms. SEWELL, Ms. NORTON, Ms. ADAMS, 
Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi, Mr. CARSON, Mrs. LAWRENCE, Ms. WIL-
SON of Florida, Mr. DAVID SCOTT of Georgia, Ms. OMAR, Mr. CARTER 
of Louisiana, Mr. RASKIN, Mr. VARGAS, Ms. TLAIB, Mr. TONKO, Mr. 
VEASEY, Mr. KHANNA, Mr. CA´RDENAS, Mr. SUOZZI, Ms. MCCOLLUM, 
Ms. WILLIAMS of Georgia, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Ms. KAPTUR, Mr. SCHNEI-
DER, Ms. BONAMICI, Mrs. HAYES, Mrs. CHERFILUS-MCCORMICK, Mr. 
JOHNSON of Georgia, Ms. LEE of California, Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN, 
Mr. BROWN of Maryland, Ms. JACKSON LEE, and Mr. NEGUSE) sub-
mitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on 
the Judiciary 
RESOLUTION 
Honoring the life and courage of Claudette Colvin. 
Whereas, on March 2, 1955, 15-year-old Claudette Colvin, a 
student at Booker T. Washington High School, refused 
to give up her seat in the ‘‘colored’’ section of the bus 
for a White person on her ride home from school in 
Montgomery, Alabama; 
Whereas Claudette Colvin was forcibly removed from the bus 
and arrested for disturbing the peace, assault of a police 
officer, and disobeying segregation laws; 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
00:11 Feb 26, 2022
Jkt 029200
PO 00000
Frm 00001
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6300
E:\BILLS\HR944.IH
HR944
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
•HRES 944 IH 
Whereas Claudette Colvin was escorted by Montgomery police 
officers to jail, and eventually sentenced to indefinite pro-
bation for assault of a police officer; 
Whereas Claudette Colvin was a member of the local National 
Association for the Advancement of Colored People 
(NAACP) Youth Council, and worked with Rosa Parks, 
the Montgomery chapter NAACP secretary; 
Whereas Rosa Parks was arrested for the same act as 
Claudette Colvin nine months later in Montgomery, Ala-
bama, on December 1, 1955, and sparked the Mont-
gomery Bus Boycott; 
Whereas Claudette Colvin was not recognized nationally at 
the time for her historic protest of Jim Crow segregation 
laws due to her age, appearance, and pregnancy; 
Whereas Claudette Colvin was one of four plaintiffs and testi-
fied in the 1956 Browder v. Gayle case that challenged 
Alabama State statutes on bus segregation; 
Whereas, on November 13, 1956, the Supreme Court upheld 
the decision of the District Court that the State of Ala-
bama’s bus segregation laws violated the rights of Afri-
can Americans as stated in the Fourteenth Amendment 
to the Constitution; 
Whereas the Supreme Court Browder v. Gayle ruling signaled 
the end of the 382-day Montgomery Bus Boycott; 
Whereas Claudette Colvin went on to become a nurse’s aide 
in Manhattan, New York, and retired in 2004; and 
Whereas, in October 2021, Claudette Colvin filed a motion in 
Montgomery Juvenile Court to have her record expunged: 
Now, therefore, be it 
Resolved, the House of Representatives— 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
00:11 Feb 26, 2022
Jkt 029200
PO 00000
Frm 00002
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\HR944.IH
HR944
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
•HRES 944 IH 
(1) recognizes Claudette Colvin as an integral 
figure of the civil rights movement, for which she, as 
a teenager, advocated for the constitutional rights of 
all African Americans; and 
(2) honors the brave actions of Claudette Colvin 
which led to the Montgomery Bus Boycott, and the 
landmark Supreme Court Browder v. Gayle ruling. 
Æ 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
00:11 Feb 26, 2022
Jkt 029200
PO 00000
Frm 00003
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6301
E:\BILLS\HR944.IH
HR944
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS