F.W. Woolworth Co.

As many of you know, the F.W. Woolworth building that sits in downtown Greensboro is the site of an important and historic nonviolent civil rights protest. Greensboro has long awaited the opening of what is now known as the International Civil Rights Museum. If you have ever been to the Smithsonian, you have likely passed by a portion of that infamous lunch counter where the four young men sat in protest.


Remembering the Greensboro Four


Four freshmen from North Carolina Agriculture and Technical College sat down and sparked a movement.

On February 1, 1960, Franklin McCain, Joseph McNeil, Jibreel Khazan, and David Richmond sat at the segregated lunch counter at Woolworth's in Greensboro. The students knew the counter did not serve African Americans. But they sat down anyway, following through on a plan they discussed for months.

Despite protests and a strong police presence, the students diligently returned to the counter in the following days, each time gaining more supporters to their cause. Five days later, more than 1,000 people packed the store.

Similar protests were held in Winston-Salem, Durham, Charlotte, Raleigh, Fayetteville, High Point, and throughout the South in solidarity with the Greensboro students.

F.W. Woolworths became desegregated on July 26, 1960.

The Greensboro Four, as they are now called, were honored at the International Civil Rights Center and Museum in Greensboro, which opened this week. Gov. Bev Perdue and US Senator Kay Hagan were among those celebrating the grand opening.

The museum is an archival center and teaching facility devoted to the international struggle for civil and human rights. The museum celebrates the nonviolent protests of the 1960 Greensboro sit-ins that served as a catalyst in the civil rights movement.

Click http://www.sitins.com/ to learn more about the Greensboro Sit-ins.




Source: David Young