Sign Text for North Carolina Landmark #J-79:
Launched the national drive for integrated lunch counters, Feb. 1, 1960, in Woolworth store 2 blocks south.
More about the Site of First Civil Rights Sit-In:
On February 1, 1960, four freshmen from the Agricultural and Technical College of North Carolina walked into the F.W. Woolworth Department Store to buy school supplies. That might not seem unusual, but these four Black students, Joseph McNeil, Ezell Blair, Franklin McCain, and David Richmond, then sat down at the white-only section of the restaurant’s lunch counter to read! The waitress asked them to leave but they remained until the store closed for the day!
The next day, two dozen Black students sat at the counter in Woolworth’s, and by Day 3, the mayor himself ordered a halt to protests until city leadership could come up with a solution! By then, the word was out, and before the month was over, sit-ins had spread to 30 more locations spanning 7 states! Inspired by Gandhi’s strategy of nonviolent resistance, the sit-in movement gave rise to the influential Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) in April of that year!
While Greensboro did desegregate eating facilities that summer, it took three more years of protests to untangle the segregation policies of education, employment, public policy, and other private associations in the City of Greensboro. It had been the first city in the South to declare compliance with the Brown v. Board ruling in 1954, but one of the last in North Carolina to fully desegregate schools (1971)!
How Can I #HelpTheHelpers?
- Pay the entrance fee to help maintain trails, signs, structures, and other visitor services!
- Volunteer with the North Carolina Division of State Historic Sites!
- Donate to International Civil Rights Center & Museum!
- Be a responsible visitor! Please respect the signs and pathways, and treat all structures and artifacts with respect. They’ve endured a lot to survive into the present. They’ll need our help to make it into the future!
How Do I Get There?
Marker
- SW Corner of N Elm St & W Friendly Ave
Greensboro, NC 27401
Site/Museum
- 134 S Elm St
Greensboro, NC 27401
February One Monument
- 202 University Cir
Greensboro, NC 27411
When Should I Visit?
The International Civil Rights Center and Museum is open Monday through Saturday from 10:00 AM until 06:00 PM!
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