On February 1st in 1960,
four African-American students from what is now NC A&T State
University were refused service at the F.W. Woolworth Co. in downtown
Greensboro, because the lunch counter was racially segregated. Despite the
restaurant's request that they leave, they remained in their seats,
in non-violent protest.
More students joined the cause each
day, in North Carolina and the surrounding states, and within three
months sit-ins had spread to at least 55 cities. The students had taken inspiration from Rosa Parks, who began the Civil Rights Movement by refusing to give up her seat in a Montgomery bus in 1955.
A few years later, in 1963, Martin Luther King would deliver his "I have a Dream" speech during the march in Washington D.C. Over the next few years, African-Americans would gain equal rights, through legislation such as the Equal Voting Rights Act, passed in 1965.
The Smithsonian Institution's Museum of American History in Washington displays a section of the original lunch counter, and the original building is now open as the International Civil Rights Center and Museum.
A few years later, in 1963, Martin Luther King would deliver his "I have a Dream" speech during the march in Washington D.C. Over the next few years, African-Americans would gain equal rights, through legislation such as the Equal Voting Rights Act, passed in 1965.
The Smithsonian Institution's Museum of American History in Washington displays a section of the original lunch counter, and the original building is now open as the International Civil Rights Center and Museum.
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