F E ATU RE S
lANUARY 29, 2010
GREENSBORO’S BEST-KEPT SECRETS
Placing the Greensboro sit4n movement in context
Feb. 1 marks the 50^^ anniversary of the
beginning of the Greensboro sit-ins. On that
day in 1960, four black A&T students sat
at the segregated Woolworth's lunch coun
ter downtown. Their action against white
supremacy was one of the catalysts for a
new wave of student participation in the
Civil Rights movement.
A series of commemorative events will
mark the opening of the International Civil
Rights Center & Museum on the site where
Woolworth's once was. A press release pub
lished Jan. 20 announced a ribbon-cutting
event at 8 a.m. on Feb. 1 that will be free and
open to the public.
"This (museum) stands as a physi
cal testament to the courage, sacrifice
and commitment those four young men
demonstrated 50 years ago," said Melvin
"Skip" Alston, chairman and co-founder
of the International Civil Rights Center &
Museum.
The actions of the A&T Four are fre
quently removed from the historical context
that gave rise to the sit-ins. Many people are
unaware that the demonstrations grew into
months of protest and involved thousands
of Greensboro residents. The sit-ins may
have marked the beginning of a new phase
of struggle, but they were deeply rooted in
the history of resistance in Greensboro.
"A story that has often been told about
Civil Rights is about heroes like Martin
Luther ICng, and to a lesser extent women
like Rosa Parks," said community & justice
studies professor Sherry Giles. "It leaves
out the history of the grassroots that makes
movements like the sit-ins so powerful."
Black Greensboro residents who were
actively engaged in challenging the white
power structure in the 1950s set the stage for
the sit-in movement. After a number of law
suits, a city-owned golf course was success
fully desegregated in 1955, and residents
were engaged in pushing for full access to
public pools.
Another crucial factor leading up to
the movement was the rising frustration
over white attempts to thwart desegrega
tion. After the 1954 Brown v. Board of
Education Supreme Court decision declared
segregation illegal, the black community in
Greensboro grew angrier about the slow
progress of integration.
Greensboro has a reputation as a city that
prides itself on civilities, which is often used
as an excuse to stall attempts at change.
Commonly called the "progressive myth,"
this approach was utilized by the City
Council and white business community
in response to the Civil Rights movement
and other grassroots attempts to eradicate
racism.
"The Progressive Myth insists that
Greensboro is a progressive city and that
Greensboro's leaders are progressive, dili
gently working to improve racial and eco
nomic conditions for all," writes Randy
Johnston on his Web site, ProgressiveMyth.
com. "(It) is an impressively bold lie, repeat
ed so often and in so many ways that it is
accepted as truth by much of the commu
nity."
Not all white Greensboro residents were
so reactionary. White store-owner Ralph
Johns provided advice and support to the
A&T Four, and called a reporter on Feb. 1 to
cover the sit-in on their behalf. Other white
Greensboro residents joined black students
on the picket line.
"They were met by members of white gangs
who waved confederate flags," explains
William Chafe in his book "Civilities and
Civil Rights", which is all about Greensboro.
"Carrying small American flags purchased
in advance by student leaders, the (A&T)
football team then formed a flying wedge
that moved through the whites to permit
new demonstrators to replace those at the
lunch counters."
Some of the city's leadership attempted to
negotiate between demonstrators and segre
gated business owners, and students agreed
to hold off on protests as talks continued.
When they fell apart at the end of March
1960, regular picketing and demonstrations
immediately resumed. Roughly 1,200 A&T
and Bennett students headed downtown to
carry on the struggle.
As the school year ended and many
white residents hoped for an end to the
demonstrations, college movement leaders
like Lewis Brandon III prepared residents
and high school students to continue the
movement on a daily basis. Brandon, who
joined the sit-ins on the second day, is one of
the organizers who are referred to as "fifth
men" to the A&T Four because of their role
in orchestrating community support.
An economic boycott of segregated busi
nesses drew on the participation of the
broader black community with significant
financial implications for many businesses.
Community leaders like Bennett College
President Willa Player stood firmly beside
students. On July 25, Woolworth's con
ceded defeat, officially opening its lunch
counters to black patrons.
While remembering the cataclysmic con
tributions of the A&T Four, it is imperative
that the movement as a whole is recognized.
As we commemorate the 50*“ anniversary
of the beginning of the sit-ins, it is crucial
that the full historical context is included.
"The sit-in demonstrations represented a
dramatic extension of, rather than a depar
ture from, traditional patterns of black activ
ism in Greensboro," writes Chafe.
With luck, the opening of the International
Civil Rights Center & Museum will allow
residents and tourists to dig into the com
plexities of the sit-in movement and draw
essential connections to the persisting issues
in Greensboro today.
"Nobody can ever be certain that what
they will do will make as much difference
as they made," said Greensboro commu
nity activist Ed Whitfield. "(The A&T Four)
couldn't have been sure what they did
would have world-changing implications,
but it did. It proves that it's possible, and
since it's possible, there is a responsibility to
always try and make a change."
NTER
(Above) Guilford County Commissioner Melvin “Skip” Alston and Rep.
Earl Jones, co-founders of the museum, stand in front of the civil rights
center. (Right) The original portion of the lunch counter and stools where
the four students sat on Feb. I, I960, still stands in its original location in the
building. (Top right) The museum faces N. Elm St, awaiting the grand opening.
Photos Courtesy of sitinmovementorg
International Civil Rights
Center & Museum
GRANC^
FIRSTMTO
Wn^ FESTIVITIES
JAN,30-FEB.1
CpMMtMORATING
THE 50TH AHHiVEftSARY
OF THE
F.W.WOOtWOmH S4T-INS
AKO THE
AMlfllCAH CtVit RIGHTS
MOVEMENT
FOR DFTAltSCAa 336 274-91 >«
.■NTERNATlOm
TVIL RIGHTS
INTtR* MUSEUM
Feb. 8 @ 8 a.m.
301 North Elm Street