Chapters 1-3, Jim Crow and the Detested Number Ten, Coot, Summary

Chapter one opens the story in Claudette Colvin's words. She was four years old when she found out what happened when blacks acted up against whites. Some white boys came up to her and wanted to see her hands. They touched each other's hands and the boys laughed. When Claudette's mother saw them, she came up to Claudette and slapped her across the face and told her that she's not supposed to touch white people. The white boy's mother agreed. She learned to never touch white people again.

The author's voice takes over. Claudette Colvin grew up black in central Alabama during the 1940s and 1950s. Jim Crow controlled her life and all other blacks with her. Races were heavily segregated in all aspects of...