Every student knows the Rosa Parks story.  When students discover there was a teenager before Rosa and a teenager that was silenced, their sense of injustice is piqued.  The students connect with Claudette Colvin because they know what it feels like to be ignored or dismissed because of their age.

Katherine Rosario spoke nicely about Claudette’s connection to teens in her fantastic blog review of Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice.

“Claudette Colvin is a teenage student who stood up for what she believed in. How many students today would be willing to do what she did? It might be few or more than we would anticipate. Students can look to Claudette Colvin as a role model and someone that they may be able to connect with, given that she is one of them; a teen. This can relate to Emmett Till that we learn about in the text. “‘There had been lynchings and cross burnings before, but this was a much stronger warning. Emmett Till was age.’” (59)

An undeniable connection exists because they are all about the same age, thus, teens today may see Claudette as one of their peers. This is one way that students can begin to connect with the text, through Claudette herself. This is where the ball gets rolling; students may be more engaged with the text which opens up for more possible connections to be made.”–Katherine Rosario Blog