When African Americans tried to find a house or apartment, register to vote, or even order lunch, they were denied equal rights. The Woolworth's in Greensboro, like other stores in the community, refused to seat and serve African Americans at its luncheonette. Throughout American history, effecting social change often required personal initiative, sacrifice, and courage. They want rain without thunder and lightning. They want the ocean without the awful roar of its waters.
Power concedes nothing without a demand.
It never did, and it never will. Their request was refused. When asked to leave, they remained in their seats. They challenged Woolworth's company policy of racial discrimination by sitting at the lunch counter and, later, organizing an economic boycott of the store. Their defiance heightened many Americans' awareness of racial injustice and ultimately led to the desegregation of the F.W. Woolworth lunch counter on July 25, 1960.