"I was about four years old the first time I ever saw what happened when you acted up to whites." — Claudette Colvin

I never swore when I was young.

There were many African Americans - many, many stories similar to my story.

We learned about people like Sojourner Truth, Harriet Tubman, Booker T. Washington and Marian Anderson. Harriet Tubman was my favorite.

The light-skinned girls always thought they were better looking. So did the teachers, too. That meant most of the dark complexion ones didn't like themselves.