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DAY IN HISTORY
The Sit-in Igniting a National Civil Rights Movement
Four Black students inspired by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
February 1, 1960 was just another day at the F. W. Woolworth store in Greensboro, North Carolina. Then everything changed when four freshmen from the historically Black college, North Carolina A&T State University, inspired by Dr. Martin Luther King’s strategy of non-violent protests, sat down at the lunch counter.
Ezell Blair, Jr., Franklin McCain, Joseph McNeil and David Richmond calmly ordered food. They were refused because the segregated lunch counter was for whites only. While they assumed they would never be served, they remained in their seats until the store closed. The store manager chose not to call the police.
The next day, the four students returned and sat at the lunch counter. This time, they were joined by some twenty other Black students, including women. Again refused service, the students were harassed by angry white customers. Local media outlets were now covering the story.
By noon on February 6, the number of people in the Greensboro F. W. Woolworth store burgeoned to more than 1,000 demonstrators. After the store’s manager received a bomb threat by telephone, the store had to close.
