How long did greensboro sit in last

On February 1, , the four sat down at the lunch counter inside the Woolworth store. The store manager, Clarence Harris, asked them to leave, but the four men stayed until the store closed that night.

The next day, more than twenty black students joined the sit-in including coeds from Bennett College also in Greensboro. White customers harassed the black students and the lunch counter staff continued to refuse them service. News reporters and a TV cameraman covered the protests the second day as the Greensboro community and eventually the nation and the world learned of them. The four students politely asked for service and were refused. The activists begged to differ as they pulled out their receipts and told her they disagreed with her.

By now there was no sound in the dining area. The voices of patrons were hushed with just the clink of silverware audible as the four sat in silence. An older black Woolworth's employee, probably worried about her job or maybe their safety, came out of the kitchen and suggested the students should follow the rules. The four had discussed night after night in their dorm rooms their mistrust of anyone over 18 years old. Still, they remained in their seats. Eventually, a police officer entered the store and spoke with Harris.

The last person to approach the Greensboro Four on that first day was an elderly white lady, who rose from her seat in the counter area and walked over toward McCain. She sat down next to him and looked at the four students and told them she was disappointed in them. By simply taking a seat at the counter, asking to be served, and continuing to sit peacefully and quietly, the Greensboro Four had paralyzed the store, its staff, its patrons and the police for hours that Monday afternoon.

None of them expected to freely walk out of Woolworth's that day. There had been previous sit-ins. What made Greensboro different was how it grew from a courageous moment to a revolutionary movement.

The combination of organic and planned ingredients came together to create an unprecedented youth activism that changed the direction of the Civil Rights Movement and the nation itself. The results of this complex and artful recipe are difficult to faithfully replicate. Besides the initial, somewhat spontaneous February 1 act of courage, more components were needed.

One essential ingredient was publicity. The Greensboro Four stayed put until the store closed, then returned the next day with more students from local colleges. Heavy television coverage of the Greensboro sit-ins sparked a sit-in movement that quickly spread to college towns throughout the South and into the North, as young Black and white people joined in various forms of peaceful protest against segregation in libraries, beaches, hotels and other establishments.

By the end of March , the movement had spread to 55 cities in 13 states. Though many were arrested for trespassing, disorderly conduct or disturbing the peace, national media coverage of the sit-ins brought increasing attention to the civil rights movement.

In response to the success of the sit-in movement, dining facilities across the South were being integrated by the summer of Rap Brown. By the early s, SNCC had lost much of its mainstream support and was effectively disbanded. The Greensboro Sit-In was a critical turning point in Black history and American history, bringing the fight for civil rights to the national stage. Its use of nonviolence inspired the Freedom Riders and others to take up the cause of integration in the South, furthering the cause of equal rights in the United States.

But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us! Subscribe for fascinating stories connecting the past to the present. Includes letters written to N. Governor Luther Hodges by students. University of North Carolina at Greensboro.

Gaillard, Frye. Charlotte, N. Woolworth store in downtown Greensboro on 1 Feb. Greensboro News and Record. Comments are not published until reviewed by NCpedia editors at the State Library of NC , and the editors reserve the right to not publish any comment submitted that is considered inappropriate for this resource. NCpedia will not publish personal contact information in comments, questions, or responses.

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