Greensboro And The Sit In Movement Flashcards
On 1 February 1960
Four black students in North Carolina waited to be served at a segregated lunch counter.The students knew they would be asked to leave the “white only “ area but when told so by staff they held a sit in remaining in the store until closing time
Why did the 4 black students hold a sit in
Their aim was to generate publicity that would make Woolworth departement stores end their policy of segregation.
The next day
25 more students arrived to join the Greensboro sit in
By 4 February 1960
There were more than 300 students both black and white, working in shifts to dontinue the protest.After a week, the sit in’s spread to other towns
In July the Greensboro department store was
Desegregated due to loss of earnings and the continued disruption of business
However other Woolworth stores in the Southern states
Took longer to desegregate despite continued sit ins.Some did not desegregate until 1965
As the Greensboro sit ins continued CORE amd SCLC sent
Experienced campaigners to train the students in non violent protest methods
Key principles of non violent protests
Demonstrate peacefully and visibly.
Do not rise to provocation
Show your opponent up as a violent oppresor
On 15 April 1960
SCLC was set up (student nonviolent coordinating commitee)
Why was SNCC set up
In order to organise the kind of non violent protests used by Martin Luther King and CORE.SNCC trained students to cope with the hostility and and harrassment they faced during sit ins.
Significance of the Greensboro sit in movement ( young people)
Young people were thought segregated lunch counters was wrong and humiliating, and were keen to protest against them.
Significance of the Greensboro movement ( spread quickly)
Existing civil rights groups meant structures were already in place that helped a sit in to spread quickly
Significance of the Greensboro movement ( visible to public)
The sit ins were a very visible form of public protest
Significance of the Greensboro movement ( mass support)
Large numbers of protestors ( about 50,000 by autumn 1960 ) took part in the sit ins
Significance of the Greenboro movement ( media coverage )
Positive news reports about the sit ins resulted in support from black and white Americans in both the North and the South..This led to demonstrations across the USA to challenge segregation in public spaces
