Justice is put to the test in Montgomery, Alabama, as Claudette Colvin files a request to erase her 1955 arrest and probation from her record. At just 15 years old and months before Rosa Parks made headlines, Colvin sat on a bus with friends. She sat further down, more than halfway towards the back, when a white passenger approached. The driver insisted that Colvin give her seat up to the white passenger. With remarkable courage, Colvin refused the driver’s request, which resulted in her arrest.

Colvin didn’t go down without a fight. She resisted the arrest and was charged with assaulting an officer. She was put on probation “as a ward of the state pending good behavior,” and was ruled as “delinquent” by the juvenile court. Her probation never officially ended. Decades later, Colvin still fights for her constitutional rights and urges city officials to expunge the conviction from her criminal record, not just for herself, but for the future of Black Americans. Her attorney, Phillip Ensler, addressed the lack of clarity regarding her ongoing probation and informed AP of Colvin’s decision to move to New York and her fear of returning to Alabama. Colvin adds:

“My conviction for standing up for my constitutional right terrorized my family and relatives who knew only that they were not to talk about my arrest and conviction because people in town knew me as ‘that girl from the bus…You just have to inspire the people that you know, to keep on pushing and keep the struggle going, because it is not over”

Laws are not always fair, and progress is not guaranteed without action. If your criminal record is holding you back, Easy Expunctions is here to help. For more information about a seamless and affordable record-clearing process, contact our friendly professionals at (866) 775-9983 or visit our website at EasyExpunctions.com.

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