The two texts present contrasting views on who should be the symbol of the Montgomery bus boycott. Text 1 argues that Rosa Parks is the more appropriate figure due to her status as a respected civic leader, her age, and the thoughtfulness behind her actions, which led to a significant impact on the civil rights movement. It emphasizes that her refusal to give up her seat was well-considered and carried greater authority. In contrast, Text 2 advocates for Claudette Colvin, highlighting her as the first to challenge the unjust seating law nine months prior to Parks. It praises Colvin's bravery as a 15-year-old who acted spontaneously, suggesting that her youth and unplanned defiance make her actions arguably more genuine and deserving of recognition.
Targeted Activity: Compare Informational Texts
Read the following two texts about Rosa Parks and Claudette Colvin. Note how they interpret the facts in different ways to support different positions.
Text 1
Rosa Parks was an appropriate symbol of the Montgomery bus boycott. She was a respected civic leader. As a result, her refusal to give her seat to a white person had a powerful impact on the community. It helped to launch the bus boycott—a major event in the civil rights movement. It is true that Claudette Colvin refused to give up her seat nine months earlier than Parks did. However, Parks was 42 years old while Colvin was only 15. Parks’s age gave her actions more authority and made people take her more seriously. Parks did not act rashly, either. As a civic leader, she had considered and accepted the consequences of her actions beforehand. This fact makes her actions seem more thoughtful.
Text 2
Claudette Colvin should have been the symbol of the Montgomery bus boycott. Claudette Colvin was the first to really challenge the unfair law that required African American bus riders to give up their seats. Other women had refused to get up, but they did so more quietly and were fined. Colvin had to be handcuffed, dragged off the bus, arrested, and imprisoned—nine months before Rosa Parks. Colvin’s actions are even more impressive than Parks’s, for Colvin was only 15 at the time. Challenging an unjust law when you are that young is a sign of true bravery. Colvin also acted spontaneously, unlike Parks. Civic leaders such as Parks had been considering what to do about the buses for a long time. Because Colvin’s actions were unplanned, they seem more authentic than Parks’s.
Make the paragraph short but not to short and still a paragraph
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