March 2, 1807
The U.S. Congress passed an act to “prohibit the importation of slaves into any port or place within the jurisdiction of the United States. . .from any foreign kingdom, place, or country.” The widespread trade of slaves within the South was not prohibited, however, and children of slaves automatically became slaves themselves, thus ensuring a self-sustaining slave population in the South.
March 2, 1955
A full nine months before Rosa Parks’ famous arrest, Claudette Colvin was dragged from a Montgomery bus by two police officers, arrested and taken to an adult jail to be booked. She was only 15 years old and was the first person to be arrested for defying bus segregation in Montgomery.
