0:02

You're listening to American Shadows,

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a production of I Heart Radio and Grim

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and Mild from Aaron Monkey m

0:23

On September, Rose

0:26

Kennedy's labor came on hard and

0:28

fast. The nurse arrived quickly,

0:30

but the family physician was running behind.

0:33

The Kennedy's wanted to wait for his arrival,

0:36

but the baby had other plans. The

0:39

nurse advised rose to squeeze

0:41

her legs together to prevent the birth, and

0:44

when the baby's head became visible, the nurse

0:46

pushed against it. An hour

0:48

later, the doctor arrived and nature was

0:50

allowed to take its course, bringing

0:53

little Rosemary into the world. After

0:56

declaring her healthy, the doctor left

0:59

mm. No one realized that delaying the birth

1:02

had caused a lack of oxygen to Rosemary's

1:04

brain. They only noticed years

1:07

later when she took longer to learn than her

1:09

siblings. Teachers

1:11

recommended that Rosemary repeat kindergarten

1:14

and the first grade. Her

1:16

parents, who demanded the best from their

1:18

children, were embarrassed. Determined

1:22

to fix their daughter, they paid

1:24

for special tutoring and experimental

1:26

injections. Through

1:28

it all, Rosemary tried to keep

1:30

up with her brothers and sisters and desperately

1:33

wanted to please her parents. Despite

1:35

her best efforts and those of her teachers,

1:38

she couldn't seem to advance past the

1:40

intellectual age of ten or eleven. While

1:44

rose looked for a way to cure their daughter, Joe

1:47

turned his attention to his son, Joseph

1:49

Jr. Fearing Rosemary's

1:51

disability would tarnish his son's chances

1:54

in politics, he sent her to boarding

1:56

schools where she would be out of the public

1:58

eye. A Rosemary

2:00

couldn't help but notice her father's disapproval.

2:03

She wrote to him, I would do anything to

2:05

make you so happy. I hate to disappoint

2:08

you in any way. Come to see me very

2:10

soon. Her teachers

2:12

commented that Rosemary was always optimistic,

2:15

always cheerful. Over the

2:17

years, she flourished under the care of English

2:19

Montessori schools, but when

2:22

she grew older and returned to the States,

2:24

Rosemary began acting out. Joe

2:28

looked into surgery for his daughter. The

2:31

botanies had been performed on those diagnosed

2:33

with intellectual disabilities, gay

2:35

men and lesbians, criminals and

2:38

women considered overly promiscuous,

2:41

but the American Medical Association strongly

2:44

recommended against the surgery due to a

2:46

high death rate still,

2:49

Joe arranged for the operation without

2:51

telling his wife or family. Doctors

2:54

shaved Rosemary's head and strapped her

2:56

to the operating table. They kept

2:58

her awake during the procedure, telling

3:00

her to sing or talk while they cut

3:02

away parts of her brain, stopping

3:05

when Rosemary fell silent. The

3:08

surgery reduced her mental capacity to

3:10

that of a two year old. Joe

3:13

had her institutionalized in New York, refusing

3:15

to allow the family to see her. He

3:18

told the public she was away studying

3:20

to become a teacher. He never

3:22

saw his daughter again. Her

3:25

brother Jack often snuck visits to

3:27

see his sister. Rosemary

3:29

lived the rest of her life in a cottage in

3:31

Wisconsin. She died in

3:34

two thousand five, surrounded by

3:36

her surviving siblings and the pets

3:38

she loved to spoil. Rosemary

3:41

never realized the changes her brother made

3:43

when he became president. Though

3:46

his family called him Jack, we know

3:48

him as John F. Kennedy. He

3:50

felt research and education for people

3:52

diagnosed with an intellectual disability was

3:55

blacking and wanted bold new

3:57

approaches for their care. He

4:00

once said that people with such disabilities

4:02

need no longer be alien to our affections

4:05

or beyond the help of our communities, and

4:08

because of his love for Rosemary,

4:11

JFK did something else. He

4:13

paved the way for things hidden

4:15

in the dark to see the light of day.

4:19

I'm Lauren Vogelbaum. Welcome

4:22

to American Shadows. Dr

4:30

Samuel Gridley Howe stood on the

4:32

lawn of the school he had created and smiled

4:35

as the children played. They

4:37

were unaware of his smile or the joy

4:40

he had in watching them. The children

4:42

were blind, he didn't

4:44

believe they should be objects of pity, nor

4:47

that they deserved less of an education than

4:49

anyone else. He had started

4:51

work with people with visual impairments in eighty

4:54

nine as director at the New England Asylum

4:56

for the Blind, and

4:58

the research took him to Europe to study similar

5:01

programs. Back at home, in

5:03

eighteen thirty two, his school's first

5:05

students arrived, arranging from six

5:08

to twenty one years of age. A

5:10

wealthy investor donated his home as the school's

5:13

classroom area, and eventually the

5:15

asylum was renamed the Perkins

5:17

School for the Blind. As

5:20

Hal watched the children, he had high

5:22

hopes for the school and the changes it would

5:24

make in the students lives. That

5:27

hope wasn't misplaced. The school

5:29

thrived. In eighteen thirty seven,

5:31

he invited a child who was both deaf

5:34

and blind to attend Perkins. Under

5:36

the care and guidance of the school, Laura

5:38

Bridgeman became the first deaf and blind

5:41

student to receive a full and successful

5:43

education, bringing fame and attention

5:45

to both the school and doctor. How

5:49

his personal life flourished too. He

5:51

had married well Julia Ward

5:53

was the daughter of a successful New York banker

5:56

and had talents and ambitions of her own.

5:58

She was an outspoken up bolitionists, suffragist,

6:01

and songwriter. She had written the

6:03

Battle Hymn of the Republic. Before

6:06

long, the House helped found other schools

6:08

in Virginia, Ohio, Kentucky, and

6:10

Tennessee. By et

6:12

eight, the Perkins School was a well established

6:15

success. The

6:17

House set their sights on creating school

6:19

for those with intellectual disabilities. They

6:22

partnered with Doorthea Dix, an activist

6:24

who was a champion for indigenous populations,

6:27

women in nursing, and mental health. Like

6:31

the House, she thought anyone experiencing

6:33

mental trauma or an intellectual disability

6:36

deserved every chance to reach their potential.

6:39

Today, she's accredited with making drastic

6:41

changes in the medical field by challenging

6:43

what was known about healing and illness.

6:47

She had spent years studying how reformers

6:49

in Europe treated and cared for people with mental

6:51

illnesses. Upon her return

6:53

to the States, she visited hospitals across

6:56

the country in the hopes of making positive changes.

6:59

Finding are inadequate, Dix

7:01

lobbied politicians for state hospitals

7:04

and funding to help, though

7:06

she was unsuccessful in persuading the government.

7:09

Dix helped to establish asylums in New

7:11

Jersey, North Carolina, and Illinois.

7:15

During the Civil War, Dix treated both Union

7:17

and Confederate soldiers, earning her respect

7:19

from both sides, though female

7:22

nurses were looked down on at the time, and

7:24

she pushed for formal training and more opportunities

7:27

in the medical field for women. After

7:30

comparing notes, how and Dix opened

7:32

their school in Massachusetts in eighteen fifty

7:34

one with a total of ten students,

7:37

and not only did they supply the children with a proper

7:39

education, but they taught practical skills

7:41

in the hopes that students would be able to support

7:43

themselves and become productive members of

7:46

the community. They took on students

7:48

with more severe symptoms. Although

7:51

not every student went on to earn an education

7:53

or become self sufficient, How

7:55

and Dix successfully helped the majority

7:58

of the children they oversaw. Ap

8:00

parents from as far as Texas began sending

8:02

their children to the school. Even

8:05

so, the medical community continued

8:07

to consider their approach experimental,

8:10

although how Indix preferred the term

8:12

school. More began calling the

8:14

school's asylums in

8:17

eighteen sixty seven. Determined

8:19

to make even more changes in the lives

8:21

of others, How began to teach

8:23

deaf students to lip read. For blind

8:26

students, he developed an embossed letter system

8:28

that remained the preferred format until

8:30

Braille came into use in the late eighteen hundreds.

8:34

Between eighteen seventy and eighteen ninety,

8:36

the public's attitude toward people with

8:38

intellectual disabilities changed. Instead

8:41

of a push to make the deviant undeviant,

8:44

as society put it, the focus

8:46

shifted on removing them from society

8:49

indefinitely, and the more

8:51

remote the asylum, the better. Doctor

8:55

how continued his work in rehabilitation

8:57

until his death in eighteen seventy six.

9:00

The school carried on, still using

9:02

his methods to help people, while others

9:05

chose to permanently rehome them.

9:07

A society's philosophy had become out

9:09

of sight, out of mind, and

9:12

in seven How school

9:14

was moved to a more remote location, are

9:18

tract just outside of Waltham.

9:21

His methods of teaching and caring for the children

9:23

had fallen from favor. Instead,

9:26

many in the scientific community had taken

9:28

a work of natural science and begun

9:30

to twist it, making cases

9:32

for a drastic approach to dealing with people

9:35

with intellectual disabilities and mental illnesses.

9:39

The once sunny yards where How had watched

9:41

the children play We're about to

9:43

change into something much darker.

9:55

Charles Darwin's book on the Origin of the

9:57

Species took the world by storm

9:59

in eighteen denine from

10:01

religious leaders to scientists. The contents

10:04

and words were challenged, praised,

10:07

or misconstrued, depending

10:09

on vocation and beliefs. Everyone

10:12

had an opinion, and for many

10:14

opinion was fact. The

10:17

book renewed interest in Gregor Mendel's

10:19

work in genetics. Some argued

10:21

that intelligence, character, and morality

10:24

were rooted in biology nature

10:27

instead of nurture. These

10:29

theories were derailments from both Mendel

10:32

and Darwin's scientific findings. A

10:35

misconstrued or not that didn't stop

10:37

the progression of some to believe that

10:39

all people with disabilities came

10:42

from poor breeding and genetics.

10:45

In the eighteen eighties, author R. L. Dugdale

10:48

wrote that society's problems were the direct

10:50

result of overbreeding among

10:52

the lower classes. Environment,

10:55

he claimed, had less to do with crime,

10:57

disease, and ability than genetics,

11:00

and he didn't just supply a problem.

11:03

He had an answer, eugenics,

11:06

which is basically the concept

11:08

of trying to improve the genetic qualities

11:10

of people through selective reproduction.

11:15

The theory was that people with what were

11:17

deemed poor character traits, intellectual

11:20

or physical disabilities, or criminal or

11:22

immoral behaviors should not have

11:25

children. Meanwhile, those

11:27

deemed to have desirable physical and mental

11:29

traits and who were wealthy should

11:32

have children. Francis

11:34

Galton coined the term eugenics in eighteen

11:37

thirty three, but it's an idea

11:39

that's circulated in many cultures throughout

11:41

the ages. Back in four

11:43

hundred b c e. Those considered

11:46

unfit were forbidden to marry or

11:48

had forced sterilization procedures.

11:51

Over the centuries, different cultures had different

11:54

ideas of how far to take this practice.

11:57

If you're already thinking of Nazi Germany

11:59

as a later example of eugenics. Then

12:01

you'd be correct. Doug

12:04

Bail had come up with his theory regarding humans

12:06

by loosely taking from Mendel's

12:09

work on using genetics to produce better

12:11

and new varieties of vegetables, and

12:13

from Darwin's observations that strong,

12:16

healthy animals lived to propagate

12:18

their species in the wild. In

12:21

his opinion, the lower class was a burden

12:23

on society, and he made a case

12:25

for preventing them from having children. People

12:28

in the United States, Canada, Sweden,

12:31

England, and other countries across Europe

12:33

all believed in eugenics in some way

12:35

or another. These

12:37

societies began to fear that too

12:39

many people who were not the fittest,

12:42

healthiest, or most intelligent would

12:44

water down the human race. They

12:47

began to think reform for people with intellectual

12:50

or physical disabilities wasn't the right

12:52

course of action. Instead, they

12:54

believed in preventing their existence.

12:58

For instance, doctors and prompted

13:00

parents to forego life saving treatment

13:03

for newborns who had visible defects.

13:06

In their opinion, these children would grow to burden

13:09

society, and at the very least

13:11

they certainly couldn't contribute to furthering

13:13

the human race. Despite what

13:15

how and Dix had accomplished. Such

13:18

children who survived, or those who

13:20

experienced an injury or ailment, were

13:22

sent to asylums and institutions to

13:24

live shuddered away from the rest

13:27

of the world. Some,

13:29

like one doctor Walter Fernald, agreed

13:32

with doug Dale. He suggested

13:34

that children pass government issued i Q

13:36

tests early in life. Those

13:39

who scored below average would be removed

13:41

from society indefinitely. Fernald

13:44

believed that their prompt and early removal

13:46

would benefit the human race. At

13:49

the time, institutions and asylums

13:51

seemed the logical place to keep them,

13:54

but state run institutions were already

13:56

understaffed and cost a great deal. Fueling

13:59

the controversy regarding how much of a

14:01

burden people who had intellectual disabilities

14:04

placed on society, Parents

14:07

were increasingly pressured to surrender children

14:10

who scored low or had disabilities

14:12

to institutions. They

14:14

were often told the children would live better

14:17

lives, that they would be given the proper

14:19

care they needed without burdening their

14:21

families. And

14:23

despite how in Dix's success, Fernald

14:26

claimed that no amount of education could

14:28

improve these children and that they could

14:30

never function in society. Instead,

14:33

he cherry picked the work of esteemed scientists

14:35

like Mendel and Darwin to prove

14:38

that these children were greatly inferior,

14:41

offering little to no benefit in

14:43

furthering mankind. If

14:46

a parent refused to surrender a child

14:48

with an intellectual disability, doctors

14:50

in the community alike shamed them.

14:53

Under the guise of child welfare, the state

14:55

took parents to court, where they frequently

14:57

lost custody. Researcher

15:00

Henry Goddard insisted that these children

15:02

weren't just a burden, they were a threat.

15:06

He feared they would escape, and without any

15:08

noticeable physical malformations,

15:10

they might go unnoticed long enough to reproduce,

15:13

which would deteriorate the human species.

15:16

Thousands of children deemed feeble

15:19

were sent to live in asylums and institutions

15:21

across the country. Taking

15:24

over as the third director of House Facility,

15:26

doctor Fernald set out to make a radical

15:29

departure from the school's original purpose.

15:32

He increased the residency from four hundred

15:34

to thirteen hundred. To support

15:36

the growing population. He purchased another sixteen

15:39

hundred acres. Traveling clinics

15:41

became the norm in many states, the teachers

15:44

and parents could bring children in for testing.

15:47

After Fernald died in nine four,

15:50

the school changed its name, becoming

15:52

the Walter E. Fernald State School. They

15:55

even expanded their parameters, taking

15:58

on not just children with intellectual disabilities

16:00

or mental illnesses, but those society

16:03

deemed as normal with delinquent

16:05

behaviors labeled

16:16

as troubled. Boys who acted

16:18

out, behaved badly, or acted

16:20

dangerously in any way were sent

16:23

to the Fernald School. Poverty

16:25

and crime in overcrowded cities had skyrocketed,

16:28

and those like Fernald put the blame

16:31

on immigrants. They claimed

16:33

these problems were the result of negative

16:35

eugenics. Some of the country's

16:38

elite became firm believers and used

16:40

their influence to encourage the elimination

16:42

of undesirables as a means

16:45

to curb crime and reduce a literacy.

16:48

At the height of the American eugenics era, and

16:51

the message was clear, the human

16:53

race could be free of disabilities and

16:55

many diseases if the afflicted

16:57

were prevented from reproducing. Everyone

17:00

would fit a certain standard. Those

17:03

of certain racial backgrounds or who acted

17:05

different, or who had disabilities were less

17:08

than everyone. Else. Freddie

17:11

Boyce had been taken from his abuse of mother

17:13

when he was seven. At eight,

17:15

his equally abuse of foster mother died,

17:18

though he had no formal education, and Freddie

17:21

passed the IQ test, but

17:23

instead of another foster home, he was sent

17:26

to Fernald, and that's where he

17:28

was kept for eleven years. He

17:30

was one of the lucky ones. Some were told

17:33

they'd be there for life. There

17:35

was no love, no affection. The

17:38

children were made to feel like they were never

17:40

supposed to exist, and there

17:42

were a lot of them. Thirty

17:45

six beds were crammed into each dorm room.

17:48

At its peak, two thousand, five hundred

17:50

children resided at Fernald. The

17:53

boys received little education, guards

17:56

were often violent, and some of the boys

17:58

suffered other abuse as well. Freddie

18:01

recalled when Joseph Almeida arrived,

18:04

his father dropped him off, telling his son to

18:07

wait in the hall. Then Joe

18:09

Sor drove away, leaving

18:11

his son behind. A

18:14

one night and Howie, a boy with intellectual

18:16

disabilities, couldn't keep quiet. The

18:19

nurse had all the boys line up, then

18:21

she beat them with a wooden coat hanger. Terrified,

18:25

Howie wet himself, earning a second

18:27

beating. By the

18:29

nineteen fifties, they had television, which

18:32

brought the outside world to the school, and

18:35

some of the older boys without disabilities

18:37

began to realize there was nothing wrong

18:39

with them. While they were forced

18:41

to do much of the labor that kept the place running,

18:44

they began to plan and escape. Joey

18:47

Almeida recalled working in the lab slicing

18:50

up the brains of the boys who had died, also

18:52

that scientists could study them.

18:56

Those who escaped were quickly found and

18:58

returned. Guards stripped

19:00

them to their shorts, shaved their heads, and

19:02

locked them in solitary confinement. Most

19:05

were terrified to talk about an escape

19:07

for fear of what would happen if they were caught. Other

19:10

boys so captured didn't matter they

19:13

were already dead. But

19:15

Charlie Hatch inspired some of them.

19:18

In the summer of nineteen fifty seven, he had escaped,

19:21

living on the streets for weeks. On

19:23

his return, he told the others that the school attendants

19:25

who came to get him treated him like an animal,

19:28

and that the cops had done nothing to stop it. Something

19:31

has to be done, Charlie said. It

19:34

all came to a head on November four, of

19:37

ninety seven. Joey

19:39

had just returned from his normal mourning chores

19:41

when he noticed a boy named Curly talking

19:43

to Charlie in the lunch room.

19:46

Many of the boys, like Charlie, were nearly

19:48

full grown and capable of taking

19:50

on the guards. Before

19:52

long, the two had convinced a dozen more

19:54

to join the pact to escape, Joey

19:57

being one of them. At

19:59

three p um the boys who didn't want

20:01

to fight but did want to escape, gathered

20:04

in the day room to await the chaos. One

20:07

of the boys started a fire in the closet.

20:10

An attendant rushed into the room to pull the

20:12

fire alarm. The boys tackled

20:14

him, then through the employee outside.

20:17

A second attendant promptly left when

20:19

he realized who was easily outnumbered. During

20:22

the commotion, a boy in the solitary cells

20:24

used a wire hanger to unlock his door

20:27

and then all the doors. Meanwhile,

20:30

Joey and the others began to set up defenses

20:32

against the remaining guards, and

20:34

some of the boys began to destroy whatever

20:37

they could. Sirens

20:39

wailed in the distance. When

20:41

the fire department arrived, one of the men

20:43

shouted to the boys asking if they were okay

20:46

they were. The boys replied, the fire

20:49

was out and no one was hurt. The

20:51

superintendent and police demanded

20:53

the boys surrender and come out. As

20:56

you can imagine, though the boys had trust

20:59

issues. They declined

21:01

by sneaking around the corner, grabbing

21:03

the fire hose and paurning it on the men.

21:07

My nightfall, swarms of state police

21:09

showed up. Outnumbered

21:11

and without a plan and no food,

21:14

the boys surrendered and were taken away.

21:17

They ended up at the Bridgewater State Hospital

21:20

for the criminally Insane, which

21:22

was more of a prison than a hospital. Two

21:25

days later they appeared in court. Eight

21:27

boys were kept imprisoned at Bridgewater indefinitely.

21:32

The boys, all of them, were labeled

21:34

as dangerous, but the public,

21:37

now having heard and seen what treatment

21:39

they had endured, called for changes.

21:42

They were slow in coming. It took

21:44

a lawsuit in the early nineteen seventies for

21:46

the institution to hire adequate and qualified

21:49

staff. Finally,

21:53

Fernald closed its doors in

22:07

the state of Massachusetts hired Sandra

22:10

Marlowe to create a library at the

22:12

Fernald Institute, honoring Samuel

22:14

Howe. Being the oldest

22:16

and largest mental institution in the Northeast,

22:19

Sandra had a lot of material to sift

22:21

through, making her task

22:23

more difficult. She didn't have a background

22:25

in the history of mental health. For

22:28

that, she relied on the locals and former

22:30

resident turned institute bus driver Joey

22:33

Almeida. A While

22:36

Joey helped her sift through countless documents,

22:39

Sandra listened to his stories and became

22:41

more interested in Fernald's history. Freddie

22:45

Boyce, who still lived nearby, also

22:47

offered his assistance. One

22:50

afternoon, the three came across a letter

22:52

from a former superintendent to a parent requesting

22:55

their son's participation in a nutritional study

22:57

noted as the Science Club. Participation

23:01

was listed as voluntary, of course, if

23:04

the parents agreed, the test would require

23:06

blood samples after the child consumed

23:08

a predetermined amount of calcium.

23:11

Those in the study would get additional perks,

23:13

baseball games in an extra quart of milk

23:15

every day. Sandra

23:18

hadn't been told about any study and

23:20

kept digging. What she found

23:22

shocked her. Some parents

23:25

had agreed, but others either did

23:27

not or didn't care to respond.

23:30

Either way, the school selected additional

23:32

participants without their knowledge or consent.

23:36

In society considered these children invisible

23:38

or disposable, no one would care

23:41

or even notice. The

23:43

study had little to do with the effects of calcium,

23:46

though it was funded by Quaker oats

23:48

and run by M. I. T. The

23:51

children were fed cereal that had milk

23:53

tainted with radioactive calcium.

23:56

The researchers wanted to know how a serial

23:59

heavy diet might affect the body's ability

24:01

to digest iron and calcium.

24:04

The radioactive calcium made it possible

24:06

to trace the material and the digestive tract

24:08

through blood and waste. The

24:10

Quaker wanted evidence that their cereal was

24:12

nutritionally on par with a competitor

24:15

cream of wheat. Of course,

24:17

the experiment bombed. All

24:20

forty boys who participated suffered

24:22

ill effects, and the Quaker canceled

24:24

the experiment. Sandra

24:27

couldn't believe what they had found, and

24:29

suddenly the school was replacing her with

24:31

another librarian to finish the job. Worried

24:34

the documents and evidence would soon disappear,

24:37

Sandra and the men went back to the school

24:39

in the cover of darkness. For

24:42

hours, they sifted through boxes and books,

24:45

taking proof of the experiment with them.

24:47

After she was fired, Sandra remained

24:50

determined to bring justice for the victims.

24:53

When Dr Clemens Benda, the

24:55

head of Fernald's laboratory, died. Sandra

24:58

came up with a plan. She

25:00

met with Freddie and Joey at doctor Bende's

25:02

estate sale. Assandra wandered

25:05

through the rows of items. Freddie and Joey

25:07

snuck up to the attic to see what else they

25:09

could find. The men stuffed

25:12

pages of experiment documentation into

25:14

books that they then bought. One

25:16

document listed the names of all forty

25:18

test subjects. In

25:21

nineteen ninety eight, a small group of Fernald

25:23

survivors filed suit against Quaker

25:25

Oats and m I. T. The

25:27

scandal was an embarrassment for both the college

25:30

and the company. The Quaker

25:32

Oats immediately put out a statement denying

25:35

that had a leading part and only provided

25:37

the grant money, and Oats of claiming

25:39

the radioactive calcium had been m i T s

25:41

idea. The judge didn't

25:43

see it that way. He ordered the college

25:46

and the company together to make a settlement

25:48

of one point eight five million dollars

25:51

and divided up among the thirty remaining

25:54

survivors. There's

26:00

more to this story. Stick around after

26:02

this brief sponsor break to hear all about

26:04

it. The

26:14

day was unseasonably warm on

26:17

March second of nineteen fifty five. The

26:20

students at Booker T. Washington High School didn't

26:22

mind. Though school had led out early.

26:25

Fifteen year old Claudette made her

26:27

way to the city bus stop. After

26:30

a short wait, she boarded, careful

26:32

to stick to the rules for black people

26:35

like her, sit at the back and don't

26:37

make eye contact, don't touch, especially

26:40

that when she was younger,

26:42

a white boy had asked to touch her hands.

26:45

Innocently enough, Claudette had offered

26:47

an open palm. The boy's mother

26:50

had stepped between them and backhanded Claudette

26:52

across the Now the hard

26:54

realities of segregation and racism

26:56

in Montgomery, Alabama were an everyday

26:59

occurrence. Claudette

27:01

realized that many white Americans had

27:04

little tolerance for black people and anyone

27:06

else who didn't fit into their definition of

27:08

acceptable. As a young child,

27:11

she knew that some people thought the color

27:13

of her skin made her less

27:15

human. As more

27:17

people boarded the bus, all Claudette

27:19

wanted was to get home early enough to do

27:22

her homework and her chores. Maybe

27:24

she would even get in some free time before

27:26

dinner. She lived with her great

27:28

aunt and uncle, whom she loved as

27:30

though they were her biological parents. Her

27:33

dad had abandoned the family, and her

27:35

mom faded from the picture when she found

27:37

she couldn't afford her or her sister, Delphine.

27:41

Ambitious and smart, Claudette

27:44

had high hopes for her future. Many

27:46

of her classmates had no idea what they wanted

27:48

to do with their lives, but she had her sight set

27:51

on becoming a civil rights attorney.

27:53

As she sat on the bus that afternoon and

27:55

staring out the window and contemplating

27:57

a paper she had to write, she no the

28:00

bus hadn't moved. The

28:02

white section of the bus was full, and

28:04

the bus driver ordered her and some other

28:06

black passengers to give up their seats.

28:10

Someone complied, but not all.

28:13

The heavily pregnant woman sitting next to her

28:15

refused, sparking something

28:17

deep inside. Claudette

28:19

had had enough. Black

28:22

people weren't allowed to eat at the same lunch counters,

28:24

or sit in the same movie houses as white people,

28:27

or even enter some businesses. She

28:29

was tired of being made to feel less than

28:32

human. She wasn't less than anyone

28:34

for any reason, and on that hot

28:36

day, Claudett decided that she was

28:38

going to make herself heard. Claudette

28:41

and the pregnant woman had both paid the same

28:44

fair everyone else had, and both women

28:46

held their ground. The

28:48

police were summoned, and although

28:50

a black man gave up his seat for the pregnant

28:52

woman, caught it refused to move.

28:56

She didn't go quietly, shouting that

28:58

her constitutional rights were being violent at it as

29:00

police handcuffed her and physically removed

29:02

her from the bus. The incident

29:05

landed her in jail with charges of disturbing

29:07

the peace, violating segregation

29:09

laws, and assaulting a police officer. Though

29:12

she hadn't assaulted anyone, Claudett

29:15

wasn't the first nor the last black person

29:18

to be dragged off a bus for not giving up

29:20

their seat for a white person. Nine

29:22

months later, Rosa Parks became the face

29:24

of change when she refused to give up her

29:26

seat, but Claudette's

29:29

great aunt and uncle didn't have the money to get her

29:31

out of jail. When the minister

29:33

of the local church heard, he posted

29:35

bail, telling her that she had brought a revolution

29:38

to Montgomery. But months

29:40

later, civil rights leaders didn't

29:42

make an issue of Claudette's case. They

29:45

felt most Americans wouldn't sympathize

29:47

with her because she lived in a low income

29:49

housing district, wasn't as polished

29:51

as Rosa, then had darker skin.

29:54

Even her great aunt told her to stay quiet

29:56

and to let Parks be the voice because

29:59

white people liked her. The

30:01

juvenile court convicted Claudett on all

30:03

three accounts. She appealed

30:06

and the court dropped all charges except assault,

30:08

despite testimony otherwise. Two

30:11

months later, her attorney suggested she take

30:13

part in a civil lawsuit against Alabama

30:16

and Montgomery bus segregation laws. The

30:19

next year, four other black women

30:21

plaintiffs took part in the suit, though

30:23

Claudette was the youngest. The

30:26

case escalated to the Supreme Court, where

30:28

she described her arrest, but

30:30

she added more perspective.

30:34

She told the court how dangerous it was for

30:36

a black person to stand up for equal rights,

30:39

how such actions were often met with

30:41

extreme violence. She

30:43

recounted how terrified she was in jail

30:46

with guards who made remarks on her brass

30:48

eyes. Claudet's

30:50

testimony moved the court. They

30:53

ordered Montgomery County and the entire state

30:55

of Alabama to end bus segregation

30:57

laws. There would be no

30:59

hero is welcome, though her community

31:01

branded her as a troublemaker after

31:04

struggling to fit in and find employment,

31:07

she moved to Manhattan, where she worked as a

31:09

nurses aid. In two

31:11

thousand four, she finally retired.

31:14

In a two thousand five interview, she was

31:16

asked if she would have changed her actions

31:19

that day in Claudette

31:22

didn't hesitate. I feel very

31:24

proud of what I did, she responded, A

31:27

fifteen year old had proven that when

31:30

it comes to human rights, sometimes

31:32

one person can make a difference.

31:43

American Shadows as hosted by Lauren

31:45

Vogelbaum. This episode was

31:47

written by Michelle Muto, researched

31:50

by Ali Steed, and produced by Miranda

31:52

Hawkins and Trevor Young, with executive

31:54

producers Aaron Mankey, Alex

31:56

Williams, and Matt Frederick. To

31:59

learn more about this show, visit Grim and Mild

32:01

dot com. From more podcasts from

32:03

iHeart Radio, visit the iHeart Radio

32:05

app, Apple Podcasts, or

32:07

wherever you get your podcasts. M