Bat-Ulzii 1

Chuluunbat Bat-Ulzii

Professor Allison Carr

ESL-53C-6710

13 November 2024

The Greensboro Sit-In: A Stand That Changed History

In the early 1960s, "Whites-only" signs specified where they could sit, eat, or drink water. That

agonizing truth gave rise, nevertheless, to a good descendant: the Civil Rights Movement for the

rights for each dignity to be equal. Forceful moments of this struggle happened on February 1,

1960, when four freshmen from what was then North Carolina Agricultural and Technical

College decided they had enough.

On this day, North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University students Ezell Blair Jr.,

Franklin McCain, Joseph McNeil, and David Richmond came into a Woolworth's store and sat

down at the "whites-only" lunch counter. They went there not to fight, just to be treated like

anyone else. When the workers refused to serve them, they did not leave. They just sat there,

silently breaking the rules of segregation tacitly imposed upon them. 1 That brave deed set in

motion what came to be known as the Greensboro Sit-In protest that forever altered the history of

the United States.

"Their quiet resistance marked a profound turning point in the fight against racial inequality," as

detailed by Carole Boston Weatherford in (Freedom on the Menu: The Greensboro Sit-Ins.)

There is a picture of that day that says way more than words could. Four young men are perched

boldly on the counter, features grim but resolute, their state resonant with the possibility that they
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have just staked their whole lives. Behind them, a black waiter looks on anxiously. You can

practically sense his inner crisis, wishing to intervene in the way but afraid of the bills he'd run

into if he did. It is a picture that silences only to describe the courage of the Greensboro Four but

evokes the anxiety and ambiguity that bloomed in so many African American hearts living under

the yoke of segregation. However, the thing that was truly mind-blowing about this sit-in was

that it was not driven by shock, or whim at the time. "These young men spent many sleepless

nights in their dorm talking about the world they live in and what needed to take place," as Emily

Langer highlighted in (The Washington Post article Franklin McCain, who helped inspire sit-ins

for civil rights as part of Greensboro Four, dies.) They were influenced by dreamers like Martin

Luther King Jr. and adhered to a non-violent philosophy. Sitting at this lunch counter table was

not about getting food thrown down the drain to them; this was, as a matter of fact, a direct

challenge to a system that refused to recognize their humanity.

Other students in Greensboro joined the protest within days. Over a few weeks, lunch counter

sit-ins grew in many Southern towns. Thousands of Blacks and whites took a place at segregated

lunch counters and refused to relinquish it until they were treated in the same way as all others.

Complementary reactions were not provided in each case. Demonstrators are insulted and

threatened; occasionally, they are beaten.

On the other hand, they could not fight back which surprisingly made them a feature against

hate."The growing momentum of the sit-ins revealed the power of collective action in the face of

systemic injustice," as Beverly W. Jones wrote in (Before Montgomery and Greensboro: The

Desegregation Movement in the District of Columbia, 1950-1953.) The sit-ins did have a real

effect, though. By July 1960 Woolworth's (and a few other stores) had franchised the lunch

counters. The Greensboro Sit-In: A stand that changed history with "Whites-only" signs that
 Bat-Ulzii 3

specified where they could sit, eat, or drink water. That agonizing truth gave rise, nevertheless, to

a good descendant: the Civil Rights Movement for the rights for each dignity to be equal.

Powerful moments of this struggle came on February 1st, 1960 when four freshmen from what

then was North Carolina Agricultural and Technical College decided they'd had enough.

That day, North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University students Ezell Blair Jr.,

Franklin McCain, Joseph McNeil, and David Richmond walked down into a Woolworth's store.

They sat down at the "whites-only" lunch counter. They went there not to fight, just to be treated

like anyone else. When the workers refused to serve them, they did not leave. They just sat there,

silently breaking the rules of segregation tacitly imposed upon them. 1 That brave deed set in

motion what came to be known as the Greensboro Sit-In protest that forever altered the history of

the United States. There is a picture of that day that says way more than words could. Four

young men are perched boldly on the counter, features grim but resolute, their state resonant with

the possibility that they have just staked their whole lives. Behind them, a black waiter looks on

anxiously. You can practically sense his inner crisis, wishing to intervene in the way but afraid of

the bills he'd run into if he did. It is a picture that silences only to describe the courage of the

Greensboro Four but evokes the anxiety and ambiguity that bloomed in so many African

American hearts living under the yoke of segregation. However, the thing that was truly mind-

blowing about this sit-in was that it was not driven by shock, or whim at the time. "These young

men spent many sleepless nights in their dorm talking about the world they live in and what

needed to take place. ". They were motivated by the visionaries such as Martin Luther King Jr.

and followed the philosophy of non-violence.

Sitting at this lunch counter table was not about getting food thrown down the drain to them; this

was, in fact, a direct challenge to a system that refused to recognize their humanity. But it was a
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quiet but profound act of defiance that resonated far beyond that Woolworth's store, sparking a

movement that would forever change the course of American history. This quiet yet profound act

of defiance "resonated far beyond that Woolworth's store, sparking a movement that would

forever change the course of American history," as echoed in (Carole Boston Weatherford’s

Freedom on the Menu.)

Works Cited

Carole Boston Weatherford Freedom on the Menu: The Greens-boro Sit-ins ; illus. by Jerome

Lagarrigue.

https://research-ebsco-com.elcamino.idm.oclc.org/c/tpsdhp/viewer/pdf/orrzlielmj

Franklin McCain, who helped inspire sit-ins for civil rights as part of Greensboro Four, dies. by

Langer, Emily. The Washington Post (Online) WP Company LLC d/b/a The Washington Post.

2014

https://www.proquest.com/docview/1478065032?

parentSessionId=8e1rVnTY98PHopVGmtL%2FY%2F

%2FEWFlSdg3i0vDgU6kPtS4%3D&pq-

origsite=primo&accountid=10709&sourcetype=Blogs,%20Podcasts,%20&%20Websites

Rep. Adams Issues Statement on 56th Anniversary of Greensboro Four Sit-Ins

Targeted News Service; Washington, D.C.. 01 Feb 2016.

https://www.proquest.com/docview/1762579028?

parentSessionId=GenQcFYVfwPoI5tSU5XvKBYikLwvZCq5o2noayPjcR0%3D&pq-

origsite=primo&accountid=10709&sourcetype=Wire%20Feeds

Before Montgomery and Greensboro: The Desegregation Movement in the District of Columbia,

1950-1953 by Beverly W. Jones

Phylon (1960-) , Vol. 43, No. 2 (2nd Qtr., 1982), pp. 144-154 (11 pages)

https://www-jstor-org.elcamino.idm.oclc.org/stable/274463