Community Members Honour Claudette Colvin
A community gathering was held yesterday [March 3] to mark the stand taken by Claudette Colvin in Alabama in 1955.
A spokesperson said, “On March 2, 1955 a 15-year-old high school student riding along with a friend on a bus in Montgomery was ordered by the bus driver to vacate a row of seats so that a white passenger could be seated. While her friend moved, Claudette Colvin remained in her seat, refusing to cooperate with the legal mandate of segregation. The driver eventually exited the bus to stop a police car and the two officers entered the bus and the teen refused their orders and she was subsequently arrested.
“It was this ripple that sent waves of concern throughout the former capital of the Confederacy given the climate of terror for people of colour.
“Those forces led – nine months later – to the tidal wave of the iconic bus boycott.
“On Monday, March 3 in Bermuda, a team of three leveraged the celebration to reach out to teens travelling to school in buses with their lights on in appreciation of Colvin letting her lights shine. C9 candidates of the General Election, Shamori Talbot-Wooldridge and Dwight Jackson, along with activist Glenn Fubler, joined students riding on school buses from Flatts to engage in this learning opportunity. Dwight alighted a west-bound bus to Berkeley, successfully engaging with the relatively small student group regarding the significant milestone.
“Glenn and Shomari alighted a packed west-bound bus which was full of mostly Warwick Academy and some BI students. The students were initially reticent, but eventually warmed up and became deeply engaged – even setting aside their phones. In fact, when we contacted Beverly Howe on Magic 102.7, nearly the whole group jumped at the chance to go live with the morning radio DJ, excitedly engaging the old school media.
“At 12.30pm, a group of residents joined the gathering at Wesley Methodist Church for an appreciation celebration of the milestone. After an opening and a wonderful rendition of the theme of the movie Harriet Tubman from S4 Berkeley Student Kermya Smith, the contributions of Bermudians who have let their lights shine were highlighted.
“David Wingate was only 15 when he was recruited by the then director of the Aquarium to participate in the challenging three-man team search for evidence that the long-thought extinct Cahows had survived. A teen who had been shunned by classmates for his passion for nature ignored peer pressure and his successful arduous life journey has benefited Bermuda and the globe.
“Clyde Best remains the youngest-ever Cup Match player at 15 and his versatility shone through as he played. At 16, he played a key role in the national football team’s silver medal performance in the ’67 Pan Am Games. Clyde’s good friend Dennis Lister, MP, described the pioneer’s impact in a trail-blazing journey, beginning as a 17-year-old, breaking down considerable racial barriers at the top of English football.
“Also highlighted was Calvin Simons, a mentor-extraordinaire for teens. Cal was a gym teacher at West End School for a few decades while developing a junior football program at the iconic PHC. Additionally, he established the Pacers Track Club that shepherded scores of young people into scholarship programs in universities in various countries. BIU President [past President and footballer at PHC] Chris Furbert saluted Cal’s exemplary mentorship, which offers a template for the strengthening the social fabric of our community.
“The gathering concluded with a soulful adaptation – sung acapella – of We Shall Overcome by the versatile, sultry songstress Sheila Smith. Her unique interpretation of that anthem said it all.
“Colvin’s courage sent waves of concern through the city, given the legacy of terrorism and the usual suspects huddled with her family. In addition to the union activist E.D. Nixon, the veteran white lawyer Clifford Durr, and his mentee, the young, black lawyer and cleric who was serving his maiden pastorship – the young Martin King.”
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