Greensboro sit-in served as example during civil-rights era

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In Greensboro, N.C., on Feb. 1, 1960, four African- American college students from North Carolina A&T College (an all-black college) went to an all-white restaurant at Woolworth’s and waited to be served.  The shop was open to all customers regardless of color, but the restaurant was for “whites only.”  The students asked for food, were refused service and were asked to leave. The students had done research and had read a handout on tactics of resistance by CORE.

This direct action by Ezell Blair Jr., David Richmond, Franklin McCain and Joseph McNeil sparked the so-called sit-ins.  However, the four were not heroes to all African Americans.  One woman, a dishwasher behind the counter was heard shouting that they were “stupid, ignorant . . . rabble-rousers, troublemakers.”

They were not served and the café closed 30 minutes early.  When the four students returned to their campus, they were greeted as heroes by fellow students.  Other students followed their example over the following days.

On Feb. 2, 24 students took part in a sit-in at Woolworth’s food counter.  On Feb. 4, black students were joined in the sit-in by white female students from the North Carolina’s Women’s College.  Segregated food counters throughout Greensboro were affected.

The restaurant in Woolworth’s was forced to close.  More and more students across the South copied the Greensboro example.  By Feb. 7, there were 54 sit-ins throughout the South in 15 cities in nine states.  One of the reasons that Greensboro was so important to the Civil Rights Movement is that the press took a great interest in it and the protest was fully reported around the country.

Source: History Learning Site