Greensboro sit - ins - wikipedia Greensboro sit - ins Greensboro sit - ins Part of the Civil Rights Movement The Greensboro Four : ( left to right ) David Richmond, Franklin McCain, Ezell Blair, Jr., and Joseph McNeil Date February 1 -- July 25, 1960 Location Greensboro, North Carolina Caused by `` Gray 's only '' lunch counters at Woolworth Racial segregation in public accommodations Resulted in Catalyst to sit - in movement that spread to more than 55 cities in 13 U.S. states within three months Formation of Student Executive Committee for Justice ( SECJ ) Greensboro businesses desegregate lunch counters Catalyst to the formation of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee ( SNCC ) Parties to the civil conflict Students from : North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University Bennett College for Women Dudley High School Woman 's College Congress of Racial Equality ( CORE ) Business lunch counters at : Woolworth Kress Walgreens Ku Klux Klan ( KKK ) Lead figures Students Joseph McNeil Franklin McCain Ezell Blair Jr. David Richmond Woolworth Clarence Harris KKK member George Dorsett The Greensboro sit - ins were a series of nonviolent protests in Greensboro, North Carolina, in 1960, which led to the Woolworth department store chain removing its policy of racial segregation in the Southern United States. While not the first sit - in of the Civil Rights Movement, the Greensboro sit - ins were an instrumental action, and also the most well - known sit - ins of the Civil Rights Movement. They are considered a catalyst to the subsequent sit - in movement. These sit - ins led to increased national sentiment at a crucial period in US history. The primary event took place at the Greensboro, North Carolina, Woolworth store, now the International Civil Rights Center and Museum. Contents 1 Background 2 Activists ' plan 3 Events at Woolworth 4 Impact 5 See also 6 References 7 Bibliography 8 Further reading 9 External links Background Main article : Sit - in movement While the Greensboro sit - in was the most influential and significant sit - in of the Civil Rights Movement, it was not the first. In August 1939, black attorney Samuel Wilbert Tucker organized a sit - in at the then - segregated Alexandria, Virginia, library. In 1942, the Congress of Racial Equality sponsored sit - ins in Chicago, as they did in St. Louis in 1949 and Baltimore in 1952. Also, a 1958 sit - in in Wichita, Kansas was successful in ending segregation at every Dockum Drug Store in Kansas. Activists ' plan Days before the Woolworth sit - ins, the Greensboro Four ( as they would soon be known ) were debating on which way would be the best to get the media 's attention. They were Joseph McNeil, Franklin McCain, Ezell Blair Jr., and David Richmond. All were young black students at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University. They were inspired by Martin Luther King, Jr. and his practice of nonviolent protest, and wanted to change the segregational policies of Woolworth in Greensboro, North Carolina. The plan was simple, but effective : the four men would occupy seats at the local Woolworth, ask to be served, and when they were inevitably denied service, they would not leave. They would repeat this process day in and day out, for as long as it would take. Their thinking was that, if they could attract widespread attention to the issue, Woolworth would feel pressured to desegregate. Events at Woolworth The protests took place at this Woolworth five - and - dime store. On February 1, 1960, at 4 : 30pm, the four sat down at the lunch counter inside the Woolworth store at 132 South Elm Street in Greensboro. The men, later also known as the A&T Four or the Greensboro Four, had purchased toothpaste and other products from a desegregated counter at the store with no problems, and then were refused service at the store 's lunch counter when they each asked for a cup of coffee. Following store policy, staff refused to serve the black men at the `` whites only '' counter and store manager Clarence Harris asked them to leave. However, the four freshmen stayed until the store closed that night. The next day, more than twenty black students, recruited from other campus groups, joined the sit - in. Students from Bennett College, a college for black women in Greensboro, also joined. White customers heckled the black students, who read books and studied to keep busy, while the lunch counter staff continued to refuse service. This 4 - seat section of lunch counter from the Greensboro, North Carolina Woolworth is at the Smithsonian Museum in Washington, D.C. The rest sits in its original footprint inside the International Civil Rights Center and Museum Greensboro, North Carolina Newspaper reporters and a TV filmographer covered the second day, 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 that the company would `` abide by local custom '' and maintain its segregation policy. On the fourth day, more than 300 people took part. Organizers agreed to expand the sit - in protests to include the lunch counter at Greensboro 's Kress store. As early as one week after the Greensboro sit - ins began, students in other North Carolina towns launched their own. Winston - Salem, Durham, Raleigh, Charlotte, and out - of - state towns such as Lexington, Kentucky all saw protests. The sit - in movement then spread to other Southern cities, including Richmond, Virginia and Nashville, Tennessee, where students of the Nashville Student Movement were trained by civil rights activist James Lawson and had already started the process when Greensboro occurred. Most of these protests were peaceful, but there were instances of violence. In Chattanooga, Tennessee, tensions rose between blacks and whites and fights broke out. In Jackson, Mississippi, students from Tougaloo College staged a sit - in on May 28, 1963, recounted in the autobiography of Anne Moody, a participant. In Coming of Age in Mississippi Moody describes their treatment from whites who were at the counter when they sat down, the formation of the mob in the store and how they managed finally to leave. As the sit - ins continued, tensions started growing in Greensboro. Students began a far - reaching boycott of stores with segregated lunch counters. Sales at the boycotted stores dropped by a third, leading their owners to abandon segregation policies. On Monday, July 25, 1960, after nearly $200,000 in losses ( $1.7 million today ), store manager Clarence Harris asked three black employees to change out of their work clothes and order a meal at the counter. They were, quietly, the first to be served at a Woolworth lunch counter. Most stores were soon desegregated, though in other Tennessee cities, such as Nashville and Jackson, Woolworth 's continued to be segregated until around 1965, despite multiple protests. Impact The February One monument and sculpture stands on North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University 's campus and is dedicated to the actions taken by the Greensboro Four that helped spark the Civil Rights Movement in the South. Despite the sometimes violent reaction to the sit - ins, these demonstrations eventually led to positive results. For example, the sit - ins received significant media and government attention. When the Woolworth sit - in began, the Greensboro newspaper published daily articles on the growth and impact of the demonstration. The sit - ins made headlines in other cities as well, as the demonstrations spread throughout the Southern states. A Charlotte newspaper published an article on February 9, 1960, describing the statewide sit - ins and the resulting closures of dozens of lunch counters. Furthermore, on March 16, 1960, President Eisenhower expressed his concern for those who were fighting for their human and civil rights, saying that he was `` deeply sympathetic with the efforts of any group to enjoy the rights of equality that they are guaranteed by the Constitution. '' Also, this sit - in was a contributing factor in the formation of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee ( SNCC ). In many towns, the sit - ins were successful in achieving the desegregation of lunch counters and other public places. Nashville 's students, who were already planning their sit - ins and started them a few days after the Greensboro group, attained desegregation of the downtown department store lunch counters in May, 1960. The media picked up this issue and covered it nationwide, 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. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 mandated desegregation in public accommodations. Over 70,000 people took part in the sit - ins. They even spread to northern states such as Ohio and the western state of Nevada. Sit - ins protested about segregated swimming pools, lunch counters, libraries, transport facilities, museums, art galleries, parks and beaches. By simply highlighting such practices, the students can claim to have played a significant part in the history of the Civil Rights Movement. In 1993, a four - seat portion of the lunch counter was acquired by the Smithsonian Institution. The International Civil Rights Center & Museum in Greensboro, North Carolina, contains the full rest of the lunch counter in its original footprint inside the store, along with photos of the original four protesters, a timeline of the events, and headlines from the media. The street south of the site was renamed February One Place, in commemoration of the date of the first Greensboro sit - in. See also Sit - in movement - list of sit - in 's American Civil Rights Movement Timeline February One : The Story of the Greensboro Four References Jump up ^ `` The Sit - in Movement ''. International Civil Rights Center & Museum. Retrieved 20 March 2016. ^ Jump up to : The Greensboro Sit - In, history, Retrieved February 25, 2015 ^ Jump up to : `` Greensboro Lunch Counter Sit - In '', Library of Congress. Retrieved November 26, 2010. Jump up ^ `` We 'll see sit - in stamp first ''. greensboro.com ( in German ). Retrieved 2018 - 02 - 04. Jump up ^ First Southern Sit - in, Greensboro NC, Civil Rights Movement Veterans Jump up ^ `` America 's First Sit - Down Strike : The 1939 Alexandria Library Sit - In ''. City of Alexandria. Archived from the original on May 28, 2010. Retrieved August 22, 2009. Jump up ^ `` Kansas Sit - In Gets Its Due at Last ; NPR ; October 21, 2006 ''. Npr.org. Retrieved 2014 - 03 - 25. ^ Jump up to : `` The Greensboroina History ''. nchistory.web.unc.edu. Retrieved 2015 - 11 - 14. Jump up ^ Wolff, Miles. Lunch at the 5 and 10. Revised & expanded. Chicago : Elephant Paperbacks, 1990. ISBN 0929587316. ^ Jump up to : `` The Greensboro Chronology '', International Civil Rights Center and Museum, Retrieved November 26, 2010. Jump up ^ The Greensboro Four ( PDF ), North Carolina Museum of History, archived from the original ( PDF ) on 2011 - 01 - 25, retrieved 2010 - 11 - 26 Jump up ^ Schlosser, James ' Jim ' ( Feb 2, 2009 ), `` Timeline '', in Prout, Teresa, Greensboro Sit - ins ( news & record ) Jump up ^ Wolff, Miles ( 1970 ), Lunch at the Five and Ten, New York : Stein and Day. Jump up ^ Moody, Anne ( 1968 ). `` 23 ''. Coming of Age in Mississippi. New York : Bantam Dell. Jump up ^ `` Civil Rights Greensboro ''. Jump up ^ `` Timeline of civil rights in Tennessee - October 1960 - Civil Rights - A Jackson Sun Special Report ''. Orig.jacksonsun.com. Retrieved 2014 - 03 - 25. Jump up ^ Prout, Teresa, ed. ( Feb 2, 2009 ), `` NC Stores Close Down Counters '', Greensboro Sit - ins ( news & record ) Jump up ^ Wilkinson, Doris Yvonne ( 1969 ), Black Revolt : Strategies of Protest, Berkeley : McCutchan Jump up ^ Eisenhower, Dwight D. ( 1961 ). `` 93 The President 's News Conference of March 16, 1960. ''. The Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States. Dwight D. Eisenhower. January 1, 1960, to January 20, 1961. Published by the Office of Federal Register National Archives and Records Service General Services Administration. p. 294. Jump up ^ `` The Asheboro Sit - Ins ''. Notes on the History of Randolph County, NC. January 18, 2013. Retrieved September 4, 2014. Jump up ^ Sit - ins Spread Across the South, Civil Rights Movement Veterans Jump up ^ Civil Rights Act, Find US law, 1964 Jump up ^ `` Greensboro 1960 - History Learning Site ''. History Learning Site. Retrieved 2015 - 11 - 16. Jump up ^ Curtis, Mary C ( February 19, 2011 ). `` Museum Will Bring African American -- Make That ' American ' -- History to National Mall ''. Politics Daily. AOL. Archived from the original on February 21, 2011. Retrieved February 21, 2011. Jump up ^ `` Workers unearth bits of urban history at February One Place '', News & Record, September 9, 2009 Bibliography Wolff, Miles ( 1990 ). Lunch at the 5 and 10. Elephant Paperbacks. ISBN 0929587316. Further reading Chafe, William Henry ( 1981 ). Civilities and Civil Rights : Greensboro, North Carolina, and the Black Struggle for Freedom. New York : Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780195029192. Kowal, Rebekah J. ( Winter 2004 ). `` Staging the Greensboro Sit - Ins ''. TDR. 48 ( 4 ) : 135 -- 154. Pollitt, Daniel H. ( Summer 1960 ). `` Dime Store Demonstrations : Events and Legal Problems of First Sixty Days, 1960 ''. Duke Law Journal. 9 ( 1 ) : 315 -- 365. Walzer, Michael ( Spring 1960 ). `` A Cup of Coffee and a Seat ''. Dissent. 7 : 111 -- 120. External links Civil Rights Greensboro : Greensboro sit - ins, UNCG. `` Greensboro Lunch Counter '', Object of History. Greensboro Sit - Ins ( timeline ), CRMVet. Greensboro 1960, UK : History learning site. Sit - ins ( exhibit ), Greensboro Historical Museum. `` Launch of a Civil Rights Movement '', Greensboro sit - ins. Making Equality a Reality -- History of Sit ins, Core online. Sit - in movement, International Civil Rights Center & Museum. Guide to the Edward Raymond Zane Letters, Duke University. hide Civil rights movement Notable events ( timeline ) Prior to 1954 Lynching in the United States Murder of Harry and Harriette Moore 1954 -- 1959 Brown v. Board of Education Bolling v. Sharpe Briggs v. Elliott Davis v. County School Board of Prince Edward County Gebhart v. Belton White America, Inc. Sarah Keys v. Carolina Coach Company Emmett Till Montgomery bus boycott Browder v. Gayle Tallahassee bus boycott Mansfield school desegregation 1957 Prayer Pilgrimage for Freedom `` Give Us the Ballot '' Royal Ice Cream sit - in Little Rock Nine National Guard blockade Civil Rights Act of 1957 Kissing Case Biloxi wade - ins 1960 -- 1963 Greensboro sit - ins Nashville sit - ins Sit - in movement Civil Rights Act of 1960 Gomillion v. Lightfoot Boynton v. Virginia Rock Hill sit - ins Robert F. Kennedy 's Law Day Address Freedom Rides attacks Garner v. Louisiana Albany Movement University of Chicago sit - ins `` Second Emancipation Proclamation '' Meredith enrollment, Ole Miss riot `` Segregation now, segregation forever '' Stand in the Schoolhouse Door 1963 Birmingham campaign Letter from Birmingham Jail Children 's Crusade Birmingham riot 16th Street Baptist Church bombing John F. Kennedy 's Report to the American People on Civil Rights March on Washington `` I Have a Dream '' St. Augustine movement 1964 -- 1968 Twenty - fourth Amendment Bloody Tuesday Freedom Summer workers ' murders Civil Rights Act of 1964 1965 Selma to Montgomery marches `` How Long, Not Long '' Voting Rights Act of 1965 Harper v. Virginia Board of Elections March Against Fear White House Conference on Civil Rights Chicago Freedom Movement / Chicago open housing movement Memphis sanitation strike King assassination funeral riots Poor People 's Campaign Civil Rights Act of 1968 Green v. County School Board of New Kent County Activist groups Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights Atlanta Student Movement Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters Congress of Racial Equality ( CORE ) Committee on Appeal for Human Rights Council for United Civil Rights Leadership Dallas County Voters League Deacons for Defense and Justice Georgia Council on Human Relations Highlander Folk School Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights Montgomery Improvement Association Nashville Student Movement NAACP Youth Council Northern Student Movement National Council of Negro Women National Urban League Operation Breadbasket Regional Council of Negro Leadership Southern Christian Leadership Conference ( SCLC ) Southern Regional Council Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee ( SNCC ) The Freedom Singers Wednesdays in Mississippi Women 's Political Council Activists Ralph Abernathy Victoria Gray Adams Zev Aelony Mathew Ahmann William G. Anderson Gwendolyn Armstrong Arnold Aronson Ella Baker Marion Barry Daisy Bates Harry Belafonte James Bevel Claude Black Gloria Blackwell Randolph Blackwell Unita Blackwell Ezell Blair Jr. Joanne Bland Julian Bond Joseph E. Boone William Holmes Borders Amelia Boynton Raylawni Branch Ruby Bridges Aurelia Browder H. Rap Brown Guy Carawan Stokely Carmichael Johnnie Carr James Chaney J.L. Chestnut Colia Lafayette Clark Ramsey Clark Septima Clark Xernona Clayton Eldridge Cleaver Kathleen Cleaver Charles E. Cobb Jr. Annie Lee Cooper Dorothy Cotton Claudette Colvin Vernon Dahmer Jonathan Daniels Joseph DeLaine Dave Dennis Annie Devine Patricia Stephens Due Joseph Ellwanger Charles Evers Medgar Evers Myrlie Evers - Williams Chuck Fager James Farmer Walter E. Fauntroy James Forman Marie Foster Golden Frinks Andrew Goodman Fred Gray Jack Greenberg Dick Gregory Lawrence Guyot Prathia Hall Fannie Lou Hamer William E. Harbour Vincent Harding Dorothy Height Lola Hendricks Aaron Henry Oliver Hill Donald L. Hollowell James Hood Myles Horton Zilphia Horton T.R.M. Howard Ruby Hurley Jesse Jackson Jimmie Lee Jackson Richie Jean Jackson T.J. Jemison Esau Jenkins Barbara Rose Johns Vernon Johns Frank Minis Johnson Clarence Jones J. Charles Jones Matthew Jones Vernon Jordan Tom Kahn Clyde Kennard A.D. King C.B. King Coretta Scott King Martin Luther King Jr. Martin Luther King Sr. Bernard Lafayette James Lawson Bernard Lee Sanford R. Leigh Jim Letherer Stanley Levison John Lewis Viola Liuzzo Z. Alexander Looby Joseph Lowery Clara Luper Malcolm X Mae Mallory Vivian Malone Thurgood Marshall Benjamin Mays Franklin McCain Charles McDew Ralph McGill Floyd McKissick Joseph McNeil James Meredith William Ming Jack Minnis Amzie Moore Douglas E. Moore Harriette Moore Harry T. Moore William Lewis Moore Irene Morgan Bob Moses William Moyer Elijah Muhammad Diane Nash Charles Neblett Edgar Nixon Jack O'Dell James Orange Rosa Parks James Peck Charles Person Homer Plessy Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Fay Bellamy Powell Al Raby Lincoln Ragsdale A. Philip Randolph George Raymond Jr. Bernice Johnson Reagon Cordell Reagon James Reeb Frederick D. Reese Gloria Richardson David Richmond Bernice Robinson Jo Ann Robinson Bayard Rustin Bernie Sanders Michael Schwerner Cleveland Sellers Charles Sherrod Alexander D. Shimkin Fred Shuttlesworth Modjeska Monteith Simkins Glenn E. Smiley A. Maceo Smith Kelly Miller Smith Mary Louise Smith Maxine Smith Ruby Doris Smith - Robinson Charles Kenzie Steele Hank Thomas Dorothy Tillman A.P. Tureaud Hartman Turnbow Albert Turner C.T. Vivian Wyatt Tee Walker Hollis Watkins Walter Francis White Roy Wilkins Hosea Williams Kale Williams Robert F. Williams Andrew Young Whitney Young Sammy Younge Jr. James Zwerg Influences Nonviolence Padayatra Sermon on the Mount Mahatma Gandhi Ahimsa Satyagraha The Kingdom of God Is Within You Frederick Douglass W.E.B. Du Bois Mary McLeod Bethune Related Jim Crow laws Plessy v. Ferguson Separate but equal Buchanan v. Warley Hocutt v. Wilson Sweatt v. Painter Heart of Atlanta Motel, Inc. v. United States Katzenbach v. McClung Loving v. Virginia Fifth Circuit Four Brown Chapel Holt Street Baptist Church Edmund Pettus Bridge March on Washington Movement African - American churches attacked Journey of Reconciliation Freedom Songs `` Kumbaya '' `` Keep Your Eyes on the Prize '' `` Oh, Freedom '' `` This Little Light of Mine '' `` We Shall Not Be Moved '' `` We Shall Overcome '' Spring Mobilization Committee to End the War in Vietnam `` Beyond Vietnam : A Time to Break Silence '' Watts riots Voter Education Project 1960s counterculture In popular culture King Memorial Birmingham Civil Rights National Monument Freedom Riders National Monument Civil Rights Memorial The New Jim Crow ( 2010 ) Noted historians Taylor Branch Clayborne Carson John Dittmer Michael Eric Dyson Chuck Fager Adam Fairclough David Garrow David Halberstam Vincent Harding Steven F. Lawson Doug McAdam Diane McWhorter Charles M. Payne Timothy Tyson Akinyele Umoja Movement photographers F.W. Woolworth Company -- Foot Locker Company F.W. Woolworth Company Champs Sports Eastbay Foot Locker Kinney Shoes Woolco Other divisions and namesakes Buildings List of Woolworth buildings Woolworth Building Lexington Store St. Louis Office Shadow Lawn Watertown Store Wilmington Store Winfield Hall Winfield House Culture `` Love at the Five and Dime '' Seafoam salad Woolworth v. Contemporary Arts Events Foot Locker Cross Country Civil rights Greensboro sit - ins Ezell Blair Jr. Franklin McCain Joseph McNeil David Richmond International Civil Rights Center and Museum February One Clarence Harris Lexington Woolworths Nashville sit - ins Family Frank Winfield Woolworth Barbara Hutton Poor Little Rich Girl Lance Reventlow North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University Located in : Greensboro, North Carolina Academics Colleges & schools College of Arts & Sciences College of Engineering School of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences School of Business and Economics School of Education Joint School of Nanoscience and Nanoengineering School of Nursing School of Technology School of Graduate Studies People Presidents and Chancellors Harold L. 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Blair Franklin McCain Joseph McNeil David Richmond Greensboro sit - ins Student life Alumni Blue and Gold Marching Machine `` Dear A&T '' ( Alma Mater ) Fraternities and Sororities `` NC A&T Aggie Fight Song '' `` Old Aggie Spirit '' A&T Register ( Newspaper ) WNAA 90.1 FM ( Radio ) Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Greensboro_sit-ins&oldid=844409471 '' Categories : Civil rights protests in the United States 1960 in North Carolina History of African - American civil rights Civil disobedience North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University History of Greensboro, North Carolina F.W. Woolworth Company 1960 protests History of racism in North Carolina Hidden categories : CS1 German - language sources ( de ) All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from February 2011 Talk Contents About Wikipedia Français Simple English Tiếng Việt Edit links This page was last edited on 4 June 2018, at 18 : 50 ( UTC ). 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Question: when did the greensboro sit ins take place
Answer: 1960