As a poor Black girl in Alabama, Claudette Colvin was born into a difficult life. She faced repeated traumas at a young age, from her father’s abandonment of the family, to the death of her younger sister Delphine, to the unjust imprisonment of her good friend Jeremiah. These events deeply affected her, but she did not let them bring her down. Instead, the hardships of Claudette’s childhood and early teens radicalized her and made her more committed to her plan to do whatever she could to end racial prejudice. In particular, Jeremiah’s conviction and imprisonment took place not long after Delphine’s death, exacerbating her sensitivity. Young Claudette understood the value of human life, especially that taken by unjust circumstances, on a personal level. Prior to her arrest and the events that followed, she is presented as an ambitious figure, confident that she can use her intelligence to become a lawyer despite being poor, Black, and female.

Claudette’s courage, fueled by many hardships, is evident in her arrest. At any moment, she could have stood up, moved to the back of the bus, or gotten off the bus, and ended her torment. As the bus moves along its route, she is threatened first by the driver, then by one police officer, then by three.