Yesterday was also

the anniversary date of the Montgomery boycott.

A story in USA Today dealt with four people who helped shape the conditions so that Rosa Parks could do what she did.

One was Claudette Colvin, who nine months before Mrs. Parks, refused to give up her seat. She was arrested and the NAACP and other black activists were ready to use her case, but Colvin was rumored to be pregnant (she denies this--although she did have a child the next year, around 16, 17 years old) and she was said to cuss and throw angry fits.

In the news story, Colvin says that she believes her case was not the case chosen 'cause she was a dark-skinned black and Mrs. Parks was not.

Maybe so, but I also think it has to do with character.

When Branch Rickey went looking for someone to integrate major league baseball, he went looking for someone with character, someone able and willing to carry a huge burden-- I really think Satchel should have been the first black major league player, but again his lifestyle. . .

I hope Colvin doesn't die bitter or angry; her part in history was to be a minor one, but really it was no less important.