As long as white people put people of color, African Americans

In the great expanse of human history, where the forces of justice and inequality have battled for centuries, there are voices—bold and uncompromising—that rise above the noise to speak the truths that must be heard, however uncomfortable. Claudette Colvin, a figure whose courage in the face of injustice reshaped the American civil rights movement, speaks with a clarity that cuts through the centuries of oppression and marginalization: "As long as white people put people of color, African Americans and Latinos, in the same dispensable bag, and look at our children of color as insignificant and treat women of color as not as deserving of protection as white women, we will never achieve true equality." These words are not just an indictment of historical injustices, but a prophetic call for the transformation of society—a society that must confront its darkest truths if it is ever to reach the ideal of true equality.

In the ancient world, the idea of equality was often bound by rigid and hierarchical structures. Rome, with its complex system of citizenship, offered rights to free men but denied those very rights to women, slaves, and foreigners. Slavery was woven into the very fabric of Roman society, where people of different races and origins were treated as less than human, their lives dispensable in the eyes of the ruling class. The notion of equality, as we understand it today, was foreign to most ancient civilizations, for the powerful could not imagine a world in which their privilege and dominance were not the natural order of things. The struggle for justice, for dignity, and for equality was born out of this very inequality—just as Claudette Colvin’s words speak to the injustice that continues to haunt us today.

The roots of Colvin’s statement go deeper than race alone—they intertwine with the gendered injustices that have long plagued women of color. In the United States, the struggles for racial and gender equality were often seen as separate, yet the intersectionality of these struggles was evident in the daily lives of African American and Latina women. Consider the story of Sojourner Truth, the former slave who stood up not only for the rights of African Americans but for the rights of women as well. Her famous speech, "Ain't I a Woman?", delivered at the Ohio Women's Rights Convention in 1851, highlighted the intersection of racial and gender oppression. Sojourner Truth’s words were a clarion call for all women, but especially for Black women, whose struggles for equality were compounded by the weight of both racism and sexism. Claudette Colvin’s statement builds upon this legacy, highlighting the ways in which Black women and Latina women remain vulnerable to discrimination on multiple fronts.

In Colvin's life, we see the embodiment of this intersectionality. At just 15 years old, Claudette Colvin became a pioneer of the civil rights movement by refusing to give up her seat on a segregated bus in Montgomery, Alabama, months before Rosa Parks did the same. However, Colvin’s courage was not celebrated in the same way, largely due to her race and age, and because she was a young Black woman. Her story, once hidden, serves as a reminder that the struggles of women of color were often sidelined in the broader civil rights movement. The fight for equality cannot truly be complete unless we confront the layers of oppression that affect marginalized communities, especially women of color, whose voices are frequently ignored.

Colvin's words are a call to arms, not just for the marginalized, but for the society that continues to perpetuate these injustices. In the history of human rights, we see time and again that change is not won solely by those who are oppressed, but by those who recognize the injustice in their midst and take action. Consider the role of white allies in the civil rights movement—individuals who, while not directly affected by racial oppression, fought alongside African Americans for justice. People like Viola Liuzzo, a white woman who was murdered while participating in the Selma to Montgomery march, exemplify the power of solidarity. Claudette Colvin’s words remind us that true equality requires the involvement of all, particularly those who hold the privilege of power and influence, in dismantling the structures of race and gender inequality.

The lesson Claudette Colvin imparts is a difficult one: to achieve true equality, we must be willing to look at the systems of power that continue to separate and divide us, and we must confront them head-on. Her words demand that we examine how our own biases, whether racial or gendered, have shaped the world around us. The path to equality is not just a matter of passing laws but of changing the very fabric of society so that all individuals, regardless of race, gender, or background, are treated with the same dignity, respect, and protection. It is not enough to fight for one group’s rights while ignoring the needs of others. Justice must be inclusive, and it must address the multiple layers of oppression that affect marginalized communities.

In our own lives, we are called to recognize that equality cannot be achieved until we recognize the full humanity of all people, especially those who have been historically marginalized. The fight for justice is a collective endeavor, one that requires us to look beyond our own comfort and acknowledge the inequalities that exist in our world. Whether through activism, education, or personal reflection, we must strive to ensure that all people, especially women of color, are afforded the same protection, rights, and opportunities as others. Let us take up Claudette Colvin’s challenge, and commit ourselves to the work of building a truly just and equal society.