The Greensboro sit-ins were a series of nonviolent protests in Greensboro, North Carolina, in 1960,[1] which led to the Woolworth department store chain removing its policy of racial segregation in the Southern United States.[2] While not the first sit-ins of the African-American Civil Rights Movement, the Greensboro sit-ins were an instrumental action, leading to increased national sentiment at a crucial period in US history.[3] The primary event took place at the Greensboro, North Carolina, Woolworth store, now the International Civil Rights Center and Museum.
Contents [hide]
1 Background
2 Events at Woolworth
3 Impact
4 See also
5 References
6 External links
Background[edit]
In August 1939, black attorney Samuel Wilbert Tucker organized
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On February 1, 1960, at 4:30pm four black students from the North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University sat down at the lunch counter inside the Woolworth store at 132 South Elm Street in Greensboro, North Carolina.[2] The men, later known as the A&T Four or the Greensboro Four, went to Woolworth's Store, bought toothpaste and other products from a desegregated counter at the store with no problems, and then were refused service from the segregated lunch counter, at the same store.[1][6][7] Following store policy, the lunch counter staff refused to serve the black men at the "whites only" counter and store manager Clarence Harris asked them to …show more content…
Newspaper reporters and a TV videographer covered the second day of peaceful demonstrations and others in the community learned of the protests. On the third day, more than 60 people came to the Woolworth store. A statement issued by Woolworth national headquarters said the company would "abide by local custom" and maintain its segregated policy.[7]
More than 300 people took part on the fourth day. Organizers agreed to spread the sit-in protests to include the lunch counter at Greensboro's Kress store.[7]
As early as one week after the Greensboro sit-in had begun, students in other North Carolina towns launched their own sit-ins. Demonstrations spread to towns near Greensboro, including Winston-Salem, Durham, Raleigh, and Charlotte. Out-of-state towns such as Lexington, Kentucky, also saw