A History of the Civil Rights Movement

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A History of the Civil Rights Movement

Young African Americans, prob ably students at North Carolina Central Agriculture and Technical College, conduct a “sit-in” at a segregated Woolworth’s lunch counter in Greensboro.

tion. They were fresh men at the blacks-only Agricultural and Tech nical State University in

Greensboro, North Carolina. On February 1 the four entered the down town F. W. Woolworth department store. The business catered to both blacks and whites. But the luncheon counter was open only to whites. The four black men made purchases in the store. They then sat down at the lunch counter and ordered food. The white waitress told the men that she could not serve blacks. The manager asked them to leave. But the four stayed seated. They quietly waited at the counter until the store closed. And they returned the next day. This time they were accompanied by about 20 more students, includ ing four women. Local newspapers and TV news programs reported the story. On the third day, there were approximately 60 people participating in the sit-in. Among them were several African American female students from Bennett College. On the fourth day, three white female students from Greensboro Women’s College joined the more than 300 students at the sit in. A similar protest took place that day at the nearby S. H. Kress & Company retail store.