Freedom Summer: Source 1
Q: Why was the North Carolina sit-in in February 1960 important for the civil Rights Movement? Use the source and recall.
Source
Black students sitting-in at a Woolworth lunch counter reserved for white customers in Greensboro, North Carolina (Feburary 1960).
Black American students
A small group of Black American students ordered coffee in their local Woolworth's store in Greensboro, North Carolina.
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Empty seat
All seats in the restaurant were reserved for whites only, so the students were refused service.
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From recall
- The small group of Black American students who organised the sit-in were from North Carolina Agriculture and Technical College.
- The four students remained seated until the store closed that evening.
- The next day, the students returned with some friends and continued their non-violent protest against racial segregation in public places.
- In April 1960 a meeting of Black American student leaders in Raleigh, North Carolina, set up the Student Non-violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC).
- The SNCC used the sit-in tactic to protest against racial segregation.
- By October 1960 112 sit-ins had taken place in the South.
Source 1