Greensboro sit-ins: Difference between revisions
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==Actions at Woolworth's== |
==Actions at Woolworth's== |
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On [[February 1]], [[1960]], four [[African American]] students sat at a segregated lunch counter in the [[Greensboro, North Carolina]] [[F.W. Woolworth Company|Woolworth]]'s store. This lunch counter only had chairs/stools for whites, while blacks had to stand and eat. Although they were refused service, they were allowed to stay at the counter. The next day there was a total of 27 students at the Woolworth lunch counter for the sit in. On the third day, there were 300 activists, and on the fourth day, around 1000.<ref>[ http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=18615556 The Woolworth Sit-In That Launched a Movement]</ref> |
On [[February 1]], [[1960]], four [[African American]] students -- [[Ezell A. Blair Jr.]] (now known as Jibreel Khazan), David Richmond, Joseph McNeil, and Franklin McCain -- from [[North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University]], a historical black college/university, sat at a segregated lunch counter in the [[Greensboro, North Carolina]] [[F.W. Woolworth Company|Woolworth]]'s store. This lunch counter only had chairs/stools for whites, while blacks had to stand and eat. Although they were refused service, they were allowed to stay at the counter. The next day there was a total of 27 students at the Woolworth lunch counter for the sit in. On the third day, there were 300 activists, and on the fourth day, around 1000.<ref>[ http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=18615556 The Woolworth Sit-In That Launched a Movement]</ref> |
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This protest sparked [[sit-ins]] and economic [[boycotts]] that became a hallmark of the [[American civil rights movement]]. |
This protest sparked [[sit-ins]] and economic [[boycotts]] that became a hallmark of the [[American civil rights movement]]. |
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According to McCain, |
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{{quotation|"Some way through, an old white lady, who must have been 75 or 85, came over and put her hands on my shoulders and said, 'Boys I am so proud of you. You should have done this 10 years ago.'"<ref>Gary Younge, [http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,,346042,00.html "The act that gave the struggle new life"]. McCain has described the same event for National Public Radio, broadcast on ''All Things Considered'', February 1, 2008.</ref>}} |
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==Impact== |
==Impact== |
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Several documentaries have been produced about these men who sparked the sit in movement, including PBS' "February One"<ref>[http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/februaryone/ "February One"].</ref> |
Several documentaries have been produced about these men who sparked the sit in movement, including PBS' "February One"<ref>[http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/februaryone/ "February One"].</ref> |
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==Previous sit-ins== |
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The sit-in movement used the strategy of nonviolent resistance, which originated in [[Gandhi]]'s Indian independence movement and was later brought to the Civil Rights movement by [[Martin Luther King]]. The first sit in caused the lunch counter to close early and the students were treated as idols in the movement by their college. |
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This was not the first sit-in to challenge racial segregation. As far back as 1942, the [[Congress of Racial Equality]] sponsored sit-ins in Chicago, St. Louis in 1949 and Baltimore in 1952. However, the Greensboro sit-in was far more successful.<ref name=davis>{{cite book |
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| last = Davis |
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| first = Townsend |
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| coauthors = |
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| title = Weary Feet, Rested Souls: A Guided History of the Civil Rights Movement |
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| publisher = W. W. Norton & Company |
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| date = 1998 |
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| location = New York |
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| pages = 311 |
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| url = http://books.google.com/books?id=S7IYlI9KopkC |
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| doi = |
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| id = |
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| isbn = 0393045927 }}</ref> |
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==References== |
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{{reflist}} |
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==See also== |
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*[[American Civil Rights Movement]] |
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*[[American Civil Rights Movement Timeline]] |
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*[[F.W. Woolworth Company]] |
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*[[February One: The Story of the Greensboro Four]] |
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*[[African-American Civil Rights Movement (1955-1968)]] |
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==External links== |
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*[http://objectofhistory.org/objects/intro/lunchcounter/ Object of History: Greensboro Lunch Counter] |
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*[http://www.crmvet.org/tim/timhis60.htm Timeline of the Greensboro Sit-Ins] |
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*[http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/februaryone/ "February One" documentary on PBS] |
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*[http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/greensboro_1960.htm Greensboro 1960] |
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*[http://afroamhistory.about.com/od/sitins/a/sitins.htm "About.com" Lunch counter sit-ins] |
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*[http://www.greensborohistory.org/exhibits/exhibits_sitins.html Greensboro Historical Museum] |
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*[http://www.sitins.com/story.shtml Greensboro sit-ins--Launch of the civil rights movement] |
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*[http://www.core-online.org/History/sit_ins.htm Making Equality a Reality - History of Sit ins] |
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*[http://library.uncg.edu/greensborovoices/ Greensboro VOICES--Civil Rights Oral Histories] |
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*[http://www.crmvet.org/tim/timhome.htm History & Timeline] ~ Civil Rights Movement Veterans |
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{{uscrfooter|state=uncollapsed}} |
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[[Category:Conflicts in 1960]] |
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[[Category:1960 in the United States]] |
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[[Category:Greensboro, North Carolina]] |
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[[Category:History of North Carolina]] |
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[[Category:History of African-American civil rights]] |
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[[Category:Local civil rights history in the United States]] |
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[[Category:Civil rights protests]] |
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[[Category:Civil disobedience]] |
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[[Category:North Carolina A&T State University]] |
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Revision as of 19:50, 5 April 2008
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (January 2008) |
The Greensboro sit-ins were an instrumental action in the African-American Civil Rights Movement, leading to increased national sentiment at a crucial period in American history.[1]
Actions at Woolworth's
On February 1, 1960, four African American students -- Ezell A. Blair Jr. (now known as Jibreel Khazan), David Richmond, Joseph McNeil, and Franklin McCain -- from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, a historical black college/university, sat at a segregated lunch counter in the Greensboro, North Carolina Woolworth's store. This lunch counter only had chairs/stools for whites, while blacks had to stand and eat. Although they were refused service, they were allowed to stay at the counter. The next day there was a total of 27 students at the Woolworth lunch counter for the sit in. On the third day, there were 300 activists, and on the fourth day, around 1000.[2]
This protest sparked sit-ins and economic boycotts that became a hallmark of the American civil rights movement.
According to McCain,
"Some way through, an old white lady, who must have been 75 or 85, came over and put her hands on my shoulders and said, 'Boys I am so proud of you. You should have done this 10 years ago.'"[3]
Impact
In just two months the sit-in movement spread to 15 cities in 9 states. By July, the original four protesters were served lunch at the same Woolworth's lunch counter, now open to all after losing hundreds of thousands of dollars due to widespread publicity.[citation needed] Other stores, such as the one in Atlanta, moved to desegregate.
The media picked up this issue and spread it nationwide. The Greensboro sit-ins played a large role in spreading the civil rights movement to a larger audience and dramatizing segregation at a time when many, especially in the North, were not fully aware of its scope. The Greensboro sit-ins inspired civil rights groups to take up this tactic and use it to publicize segregation - beginning with lunch counters and spreading to other forms of public accommodation, including transport facilities, art galleries, beaches, parks, swimming pools, libraries, and even museums around the South.[4] The Civil Rights Act of 1964 mandated desegregation in public accommodations.
In 1993, a portion of the lunch counter was donated to the Smithsonian Institution. The Greensboro Historical Museum contains four chairs from the Woolworth counter along with photos of the original four protesters, a timeline of the events, and headlines from the media. This sit-in inspired all the others[citation needed] during and after the Civil Rights Movement.
Several documentaries have been produced about these men who sparked the sit in movement, including PBS' "February One"[5]
Previous sit-ins
The sit-in movement used the strategy of nonviolent resistance, which originated in Gandhi's Indian independence movement and was later brought to the Civil Rights movement by Martin Luther King. The first sit in caused the lunch counter to close early and the students were treated as idols in the movement by their college. This was not the first sit-in to challenge racial segregation. As far back as 1942, the Congress of Racial Equality sponsored sit-ins in Chicago, St. Louis in 1949 and Baltimore in 1952. However, the Greensboro sit-in was far more successful.[6]
References
- ^ First Southern Sit-in, Greensboro NC ~ Civil Rights Movement Veterans
- ^ [ http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=18615556 The Woolworth Sit-In That Launched a Movement]
- ^ Gary Younge, "The act that gave the struggle new life". McCain has described the same event for National Public Radio, broadcast on All Things Considered, February 1, 2008.
- ^ Sit-ins Spread Across the South ~ Civil Rights Movement Veterans
- ^ "February One".
- ^ Davis, Townsend (1998). Weary Feet, Rested Souls: A Guided History of the Civil Rights Movement. New York: W. W. Norton & Company. p. 311. ISBN 0393045927.
{{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help)
See also
- American Civil Rights Movement
- American Civil Rights Movement Timeline
- F.W. Woolworth Company
- February One: The Story of the Greensboro Four
- African-American Civil Rights Movement (1955-1968)
External links
- Object of History: Greensboro Lunch Counter
- Timeline of the Greensboro Sit-Ins
- "February One" documentary on PBS
- Greensboro 1960
- "About.com" Lunch counter sit-ins
- Greensboro Historical Museum
- Greensboro sit-ins--Launch of the civil rights movement
- Making Equality a Reality - History of Sit ins
- Greensboro VOICES--Civil Rights Oral Histories
- History & Timeline ~ Civil Rights Movement Veterans
