Colvin had been studying Black history in school on March 2, 1955, when she was detained after she refused to give up her seat to a white woman on a bus in Montgomery – the same city where Rosa Parks' protest made headlines. She 'leaves behind a legacy of courage that helped change the course of American history,' her foundation said.

Colvin also became a named plaintiff in the landmark lawsuit that outlawed racial segregation on Montgomery’s buses.

Fu arrestata nel 1955 in Alabama per aver violato le leggi sulla segregazione razziale su un autobus (ANSA)