that she had refused to give her seat to, “She
couldn’t sit in the same row as us because that
would mean we were as good as her.” Needless
to say, when the section in the bus for white
people became overcrowded, Claudette refused
to obey the bus driver who instructed her to
give up her seat in the coloured section to the
white woman. She claimed that history kept
her stuck to her seat and she felt the hands of
Harriet Tubman and Sojourner Truth holding
her down in her place.
She was arrested and appeared before a
three-judge panel in a district court which
would declare that the state and local laws
demanding bus segregation in Alabama were
unconstitutional. The United States Supreme
Court would uphold that decision. Furthermore,
the Supreme Court acknowledged the request
to Montgomery and the state of Alabama to end
bus segregation and thus the Montgomery bus
boycott was called off.
For many years, the black leaders and civil
rights campaigners in Montgomery did not
acknowledge or publish Claudette’s pioneering
effort, as she was an unmarried teenager at
the time and was allegedly impregnated by
a married man. Rosa Parks is recounted to
have said, “If the white press got ahold of that
information, they would have had a field day.
They’d call her a bad girl, and her case wouldn’t
have a chance.”
While she was not acknowledged for her
role in ending the bus segregation, her
actions brought the attention of people to the
discrimination of people of colour on public
buses, and it began with her understanding
of her constitutional rights and fighting for
the same. And she will go down in history
as a girl who rose above her background to
influence a change.
What will you do to change your world?
Preparing to Cleave
by Eturuvie Erebor
About the book
On the 21 st of November 2002, while on a journey from Lagos to Port-Harcourt,
God spoke to Eturuvie Erebor clearly about single women who desired to be
married and were frustrated because marriage was not in view and they were
getting older. He said to her; “You will break the yoke of marital delay that keeps
women single against their desire. You will prepare women spiritually, emotion-
ally, mentally, financially, physically and socially for a glorious marriage.”
This vision gave birth to “Preparing to Cleave.” It began as a Bible study group in
February 2004 and has evolved since then. This book was born out of that vision
and multiple seminars held over a decade. It uncovers to the single woman
the various causes of marital delay while equipping her with solutions, includ-
ing prayer points, to end the delay. If you are a woman who is frustrated by
what appears to be your inability to marry, this book is for you. It also includes
a workbook with questions to help you gain a better understanding of your
spouse-to-be during courtship, so, you are certain when you say, I do.
DOZ Magazine | March 2020
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