Running head: THE GREENSBORO SIT-INS IMPACT

The Greensboro Sit-Ins Impact on American Society

Maria Garcia
Salt Lake Community College

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In one of the most groundbreaking periods of American history, Joseph McNeil would go
to F.W. Woolworths for lunch, where he was refused service, informed that the stores policy
only served whites (McClellan, 2014). McNeil, a freshman at North Carolina Agricultural and
Technical College, continued to sit, replying that he and his friends were prepared to wait on
their stools as long as it took for the store to change its policy (McClellan, 2014). This first day
in February 1960, would have a hand in changing the course of civil rights for the better, calling
for a unified force against the powers of racial discrimination and segregation in American
culture on all fronts in a land where separate was the natural state of things, and violence was
a familiar response for those foolish enough to resist a call for fundamental human rights
(McClellan, 2014). Socially, culturally, and politically, the climate in America was changing.
Rosa Parks had led her bus boycott with Dr. King, Little Rock Nine had taken place, Brown vs.
Board of Education ruled that segregation was unconstitutional in public schoolsplenty of
great strides had been made. Yet, racism was still overwhelmingly violent and powerful in the
south. Freedom riders were experiencing violent mobs in their peaceful protest, and those
involved with the Woolworth lunch counter would endure a similar struggle for what was right
and just.
One of the key players involved with the sit-ins, aside from McNeil and his four other
classmates, was the media. After McNeils first effort at Woolworths, more and more students
came to participate, creating a buzz around this simple, but powerful statement against a larger
conflict facing the nation. By weeks end, there were 1,000 students joining McNeils sit-in
(McClellan, 2014). As evidenced the Greensboro Daily News, just four days later, word was
traveling quickly; and people from all walks of life (students especially) were coming to support

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the effort, knowing this would not be an easy experience to say the least (as cited in McClellan,
2014, p.244). Physical and verbal abuse surrounded those who participated, as they concentrated
on an important and necessary message that would not be brought on by violence, but peace and
commitment to what an unidentified member of the sit-ins described as a Christian movement
(as cited in McClellan, 2014, p.247). The sit-ins were raising a large range of awareness,
sparking the founding of SNCC, the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, bent on
carrying a message of peace through peaceful means, and not through violent assault as some
other groups responded (McClellan, 2014). Many were arrested and suffered even more injustice,
but the words was getting out, and the work of nonviolent, honest good work was making a
difference. The lunch counter integrated its food service facilities on July 25, 1960 (McClellan,
2014). Efforts in the fight against discrimination/segregation would continue, one iconic example
being Dr. Kings deliverance of his I Have a Dream speech on the steps of the Lincoln
Memorial on August 28, 1963 (McClellan, 2014). The sit-ins drew the American people in, of
course with the influence of many other leaders such as Rosa Parks, Daisy Bates, Nina Simone,
Malcolm X, and our good Reverend Kingand accomplished something exceptional for the
American people.
William Chafe in Civilities and Civil Rights, asserts that, the Greensboro sit-ins will
justifiably be seen as the catalyst that triggered a decade of revoltone of the greatest
movements in history toward self-determination and human dignity (as cited in McClellan,
2014, p.256). All of these persevering moments contributed to a change in the fabric of American
societythe sit-ins were one of the major events that presented passive resistance as one of the
most effective protesting techniques which sought real change when faced with violent
opposition and a rigid commitment to corrupt history. Even when hatred was the simple response

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for those under attack, Dr. Kings message of peace was illustrated, in which, unarmed truth and
unconditional love will have the final word (King, 1964). It was through these demonstrations
that the ugliness of the state of the nation was exposed, and the People were forced to confront it.
Perhaps King described the successes of passive resistance best in Why We Cant Wait, when he
explained, Spontaneously born, but guided by the theory of nonviolent resistance, the lunchcounter sit-ins accomplished integration in hundreds of communities at the swiftest rate of
change in the civil rights movement up to that time (as cited in McClellan, 2014, p. 253). By
allowing a resonance with a wide audience, it (nonviolent resistance) holds a special power that
is not exercised through oppression, but by illustrating the truth of the matter at hand.
The tableau would be eerie, as an embedded power existed on one side of the counter,
and a history of oppression sat on the other, experiencing the verbal and physical abuse of other
Americans that pledged allegiance to a country constantly contradicting itself in what it claimed
to protect. During this time, the Declaration of Independence continued to only apply to some
Americans: We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are
endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and
the pursuit of Happiness (US 1776). There was no protection, only invisibility, separation,
and/or violenceall brought on by a perpetuated ignorance. Underneath the tableau, a bubbling
history of conflict existed, containing years of injustice and struggle that was looked upon with
chosen ignorance and often times, a belittling nature that silenced the voices of fellow Americans
because of the color of their skin, and the problematic ideological culture that had been blindly
accepted by so many of the time. So, has it ceased and remained a thing of the past? The sit-ins
have largely shaped American society today as they contributed to the civil rights movement
most notably by drawing in a younger group of civil rights advocates and widening the reach of

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equality as a wholeit was a step towards equal opportunity and protecting the lives of black
Americans, but it seems there are mirroring events today in respect to the discrimination and
segregation of Americans. The self/other language that lends itself to marginalization and
categorizing individuals based on mere attributes or images can still be found today.
Just a month before the Greensboro sit-ins began, McNeil was refused service at a
Greyhound bus station in Greensboro (The Greensboro Chronology, n.d.). This type of
behavior was typical in the South, and cultivated a hostile environment that today, seems
unbelievable to most. However, one could argue the similarities are unfortunately apparent in
regard to the trans/gay community. In recent news, Senate Bill 180 was passed in Kentucky
which allows business to refuse service to members of the LGBTQIA community if it conflicts
with their personally held religious beliefs. The same patterns of discrimination we are confused
about now in analyzing history are recurring before our eyes. In the defense of religious freedom,
one might argue this instance begs the question, When did discrimination and judgement trump
the almost universal religious teachings of love and respect for one another? Refusing service to
someone is obstructing that opportunity to harness these unalienable truths, isnt it? It seems
there will always be discrimination so long as there is an other, to marginalize.
The history of black Americans has been riddled with injustice, oppression, violence, and
a reluctance to accept progressive items of reform. Yet, despite all of the obstacles, how
admirable is the situation of these four students, McNeil, Franklin McCain, David Richmond,
and Ezell Blair, to face the normalized racism in such a vulnerable and simple state (as cited in
McClellan, 2014, p.257)? The recognition of a movement bigger than themselves led to a step in
the right direction towards granting equal rights for black Americans today. Without the actions

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of those like these four students, the history of human rights would be stagnant or, at best,
sluggishly crawling towards mediocrity. We really cant wait. Dr. King was right.
Reflection
The motivations of these students and all of their supporters, as well as civil rights leaders
like King, allowed them to contribute to humanity as a whole, forcing people to recognize the
fundamental rights that are claimed to be the foundation of this nation. As it relates to the current
cultural, political, and social climate, we are still seeing remnants of prejudice and instances of
complete invisibility, but weve made great strides with the influence of these individuals. The
discussion surrounding race as a social construction has evolved and resurfaced in recent events
regarding police brutality. Injustices are at the forefront of our popular conversations, and we are
experiencing a similar demonstration in that we are forced to reconcile with the society we have
created and ask if we are adhering to the principles we declare as our own beloved
Independence.
My Introduction to Shakespeare course has significantly aided me in the visual
immersion of events throughout history, placing myself in the context of the time to acquire a
greater understanding of the circumstantial details while comparing those components of the
cultural climate to the one I am currently experiencing, which is particularly helpful in this
analysis of an event that has shaped American society. That being said, the issues of the
Greensboro sit-ins are most closely reflected in themes Ive studied in my Critical Introduction to
Literature class.
Through different critical lenses, this course has analyzed the ideologies which are
embedded within the culture, and used de-familiarization to unpack the behaviors/feelings of
individuals towards one another. By investigating the distance between classes, ethnicities, and

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sexes in Marxist, race, and feminist literary lenses, Ive found that drawing parallels between
these narratives and those of history is much clearer. The self/other language that remains a
popular tool for many authors is prevalent throughout history, particularly in this case, wherein
two groups of people have distanced themselves on both sides, allowing signifiers and
stereotypical qualities to define people, and failing to allow individual complexities to exist. In
classifying one another and adhering to ideologies that have gone unquestioned, people have
been participating in a blind imbalance that builds walls and perpetuates ignorance. How would
the world be different if the waitresses from the beginning used their power to defy a store policy
that they knew was unjust? How would the public be different if it had been raised to understand
that the similarities as well as the differences can bind human beings, rather than pulling them
apart, and living by this truth can create a cooperative, or pluralistic world that is less concerned
with the self and more invested in the holistic effort to achieve something that isnt bound by
imagined categorizations?

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References
Civil Rights Chronology. (n.d.). Retrieved May 01, 2016, from
http://www.civilrights.org/resources/civilrights101/chronology.html?
referrer=https://www.google.com/
Martin Luther King Jr. (n.d.). Retrieved May 01, 2016, from
http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/1964/king-acceptance_en.html
McClellan, J. R. (2014). The Sit-In Movement. In Changing Interpretations (2nd ed., Vol. 2, pp.
243-258). McGraw-Hill Education.
Nash, G. B., Howe, J. R., Frederick, P. J., Davis, A. F., Winkler, A. M., Mires, C., & Pestana, C.
G. (2011). Reform and Rebellion in the Turbulent Sixties, 1960-1969. In J. R. Jeffrey
(Ed.), The American People: Creating a Nation and a Society Volume Two: Since
1865 (7th ed., Vol. 2, pp. 844-876). Boston, MA: Pearson Learning Solutions.