It was on March 2nd 1955 in Montgomery, Alabama, that Claudette Colvin “stood up and spoke” while remaining seated. At only 15 years old, this teenager refused to give up her seat to a white woman on a bus.

Nine months before Rosa Parks’ action, icon of the fight against racial segregation, Claudette Colvin was already taking a stand for her rights and those of all African-Americans. Today, at the age of 80, Claudette Colvin continues her fight by sharing her story. In March 2020, she was invited to the Embrace Ambition Summit organized by the Tory Burch Foundation in New York City.

Find her interview with Michele Norris here.

NEW YORK, NEW YORK – MARCH 05: Claudette Colvin, Civil Rights Activist and Michele Norris, Contributing Columnist, The Washington Post speak onstage during the 2020 Embrace Ambition Summit by the Tory Burch Foundation at Jazz at Lincoln Center on March 05, 2020 in New York City. (Photo by Craig Barritt/Getty Images for Tory Burch Foundation)