New York City Council Speaker, Corey Johnson, correctly fights for the rights of the LGBTQ while wrongly denying black constituents equal treatments.
You are cordially invited to Hon. Claudette Colvin 80th Birthday Press Conference
Date: Thursday, September 5, 2019
Time: 2:00-3:00 PM
Venue: Steps of City Hall, New York City Hall
Why: Righting the wrong for Hon. Claudette Colvin
Organizer: Claudette Colvin Day Committee
Audience: The public
Speakers: New York City constituents
New York City Council Speaker, Corey Johnson, correctly fights for the rights of the LGBTQ while wrongly denying black constituents equal treatments. He is wrong as a speaker and certainly unsuitable to be a mayor.
Ms. Claudette Colvin, born into segregation, raised in Jim Crow South era, has fought and led the civil rights battle in dismantling “separate but equal’ government policies, and has proudly called New York City home since 1957” only to be denied equal treatment by Mr. Corey Johnson in her final months in the city.
Due to age-related health issues to live independently, her family is taking her back home to Montgomery, Alabama in two months. For this reason, New Yorkers who have tremendously benefited from her pioneering sacrifices in leading the passage of Civil Rights Laws have decided to celebrate her 80th birthday with a press conference to announce the launching of a campaign to renaming Unionport Road between East Trement and Westchester Avenues as Claudette Colvin Plaza before she leaves the city for good.
We will attend every mayoral candidate forums, debates and meetings until this wrong is righted. We know the current street co-naming policy is enforced for most and relaxed for some. Our question is, whose contributions are more impactful to New Yorkers?
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Is Corey Johnson too racist to be Speaker or God-forbid the mayor for refusing to honor Hon. Claudette Colvin? Isn’t she the most prominent constituent in New York? Is Mariano Rivera more deserving of 'living' Street Naming than Honorable Claudette Colvin?
Bronx, New York (08/02/2019) – Honorable Claudette Colvin whose brave actions at the tender age of fifteen has forever changed this nation and the world, has been a proud taxpaying New Yorkers since 1957.
On March 2, 1955, after leaving and NAACP Youth Meeting, this 15-year-old black girl boarded a Montgomery, Alabama City Bus. She was told to surrender her seat to a white passenger and refused. Claudette Colvin was the first of several people to be arrested. And the first to file a law suit nine months before the more famous Rosa Parks incident and was the specific event that catalyzed a significant chapter in the American Civil Rights Movement.
“My mother told me to be quiet about what I did,” “She told me:” Let Rosa be the one. White people aren’t going to bother Rosa. Her skin is lighter than yours and they like her.”
Colvin was dark-skinned and part of a poor black family.
It was her federal lawsuit, Browder v. Gayle, that was heard by the Supreme Court and ultimately led the passage of Civil Rights laws in the nation.
In 1957, unable to get a job and branded a troublemaker, Claudette. Colvin moved to the Bronx where she still lives today. In 2009, she retired from her career as a nurse’s aide and has recently limited her public appearances due to some health-related issues.
Hon. Jose Rivera, Assemblyman from District 78 in the Bronx, has written and is one of many strong supporters of a Resolution to henceforth make March 2nd Claudette Colvin Day in the State of New York. The NYS Senate and Assembly have voted to approve this measure and all that remains is the signature of Governor Cuomo. In 2015, Mayor Bill de Blasio enacted an enduring Proclamation commemorating every March 2nd as Claudette Colvin Day in the City of New York.
“Preparations have been underway for some time to officially rename Unionport Road to Claudette Colvin Plaza,” says Sheikh Musa Drammeh, a prominent and highly respected Muslim leader from Parkchester. “Given her undeniably important role in securing social justice for millions of black Americans and in recognition of her courageous stand in the face of abject prejudice, this year’s Claudette Colvin 80th birthday ceremony will include several speakers who will put her actions into context not only in American History, but also on the broader world stage.”
September 5th is Honorable Claudette Colvin’s 80th birthday and we planned to celebrate it with street naming. This is why Bronxites are planning to hold press conference and major citywide rallies until Mr. Corey Johnson finally do the right by signing the Claudette Colvin Street Naming application in his possession for more than a year now. Thank you!
Sincerely,
Claudette Colvin Day Committee
718-822-5555
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