sit-in movement
{{Short description|American 1960s civil rights campaign}}
{{About|the wave of sit-ins during the 1960s in the United States|the nonprofit organization|International Civil Rights Center and Museum}}
{{Use American English|date=September 2023}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2023}}
{{Infobox civil conflict
| title = Sit-in movement
| partof = the Civil Rights Movement
| image = Civil Rights protesters and Woolworth's Sit-In, Durham, NC, 10 February 1960. From the N&O Negative Collection, State Archives of North Carolina, Raleigh, NC. Photos taken by The News & (24495308926).jpg
| caption = Student sit-in at Woolworth in Durham, North Carolina on February 10, 1960
| date = February 1, 1960 – 1964
| place = United States
| coordinates =
| causes =
- Racial segregation in public accommodations
- Reaction to the Greensboro sit-ins
| status =
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| side1 = Student activists
| side2 = Segregated businesses
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The sit-in movement, sit-in campaign, or student sit-in movement, was a wave of sit-ins that followed the Greensboro sit-ins on February 1, 1960, led by students at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical Institute (A&T).{{Cite journal |last=Kowal |first=Rebekah J. |date=2004 |title=Staging the Greensboro Sit-Ins |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/4488599 |journal=TDR (1988-) |volume=48 |issue=4 |pages=135–154 |issn=1054-2043 |jstor=4488599}} Even though the Greensboro sit-in was not the initial sit-in it created a boom of sit-ins that then created this movement. The sit-in movement employed the tactic of nonviolent direct action and was a pivotal event during the Civil Rights Movement.{{Cite journal |last=Flowers |first=Deidre B. |date=January 2005 |title=The Launching of the Student Sit-in Movement: The Role of Black Women at Bennett College |journal=The Journal of African American History |volume=90 |issue=1–2 |pages=52–63 |doi=10.1086/jaahv90n1-2p52 |issn=1548-1867 |s2cid=140781391}}
The sit-in movement took place during the 1960s, but sit-ins were occurring all over America many years before then. The idea for sit-ins first stemmed from the sit-down strikes during the labor movement.{{Cite book |last=White |first=Ahmed A. |title=The Depression Era Sit-Down Strikes and the Limits of Liberal Labor Law |publisher=Seton Hall L. |year=2010 |edition=Rev. 40}} Due to the success of sit-down strikes, similar peaceful protest tactics were used to fight for civil rights. Some of the most influential sit-ins prior to the sit-in movement occurred in Chicago, Illinois in 1943. These sit-ins lead by CORE set a prime example of how sit-ins work and why they are effective.{{Cite journal |last=Shah |first=Aarushi |date=November 2012 |title=All of Africa Will Be Free Before We Can Get a Lousy Cup of Coffee: The Impact of the 1943 Lunch Counter Sit-Ins on the Civil Rights Movement. |url=https://research.ebsco.com/c/pnqjwk/search/details/ycbrnqi7az?db=aph&isDashboardExpanded=true&limiters=RV%3AY%2CFT%3AY&q=+civil+rights+sit+in+movement |journal=History Teacher |volume=46 |issue=1 |pages=127–147 |via=EBSCO}}
African-American college students attending historically Black colleges and universities in the United States powered the sit-in movement. Many students in the United States followed by example, as sit-ins provided a powerful tool for students to use to attract attention.{{Cite web|url=http://www.ushistory.org/us/54d.asp|title=The Sit-In Movement [ushistory.org]|website=www.ushistory.org|access-date=2019-04-30}} The students of Baltimore made use of this in 1960 when many used the efforts to desegregate department store restaurants, which proved to be successful lasting about three weeks. This was one small role Baltimore played in the civil rights movement of the 1960s. The city facilitated social movements as it saw bus and taxi companies hiring African Americans in 1951–1952.{{Cite journal|date=April 1982|author=William H. Chafe |title=Civilities and Civil Rights: Greensboro, North Carolina, and the Black Struggle for Freedom|location= New York|publisher= Oxford University Press|pages= xii, 436|journal=The American Historical Review|doi=10.1086/ahr/87.2.565|issn=1937-5239}} Sit-ins also frequently occurred in segregated facilities in Oklahoma City between 1958 and 1964.{{cite web | url=https://oklahoman.com/article/5604324/60-years-later-oklahomas-sit-in-movement-is-remembered | title=60 Years Later, Oklahoma's Sit-In Movement is Remembered | work=The Oklahoman | date=August 12, 2018}}
Students at Morgan State College in Baltimore, Maryland, successfully deployed sit-ins and other direct action protest tactics against lunch counters in the city since 1953. One successful student sit-in occurred in 1955 at Read's Drug Store.{{cite web |last=Liu |first=Nancy |date=11 September 2011 |title=Baltimore, MD, students sit-in to integrate Read's drug stores, USA, 1955 |url=http://nvdatabase.swarthmore.edu/content/baltimore-md-students-sit-integrate-reads-drug-stores-usa-1955 |accessdate=25 May 2023 |work=Global Nonviolent Action Database |publisher=Swarthmore}} Despite also being led by students and successfully resulting in the end of segregation at a store lunch counter, the Read's Drug Store sit-in did not receive the same level of attention that was later given to the Greensboro sit-ins.{{cite news |last=Pousson |first=Eli |title=Read's Drug Store |url=https://explore.baltimoreheritage.org/items/show/93 |accessdate=May 25, 2023 |publisher=baltimoreheritage.org}} Two store lunch counter sit-ins, which occurred in Wichita, Kansas and Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, in 1958, also proved successful and employed tactics similar to those of the future Greensboro sit-ins.{{cite news |title=Dockum Drug Store Sit-In |url=https://www.kshs.org/kansapedia/dockum-drug-store-sit-in/17048 |accessdate=May 25, 2023 |publisher=Kansas Historical Society}}{{cite news |last=Backburn |first=Bob L. |date=July 29, 2018 |title=African-American history in Oklahoma contains sit-ins, soldiers, entrepreneurs and more |url=https://www.oklahoman.com/story/lifestyle/2018/07/29/african-american-history-in-oklahoma-contains-sit-ins-soldiers-entrepreneurs-and-more/60510897007/ |accessdate=May 25, 2023 |publisher=The Oklahoman}} The local chapter of the Congress of Racial Equality had had similar success. After witnessing the unprecedented amount of visibility that the 1960 sit-ins in Greensboro, North Carolina, gained in the wide-oriented mainstream media, Morgan students (and others, including those from the Johns Hopkins University) continued sit-in campaigns that were already underway at department stores and restaurants near their campus. There were massive amounts of support from the community for the student’s efforts, but more importantly, white involvement and support grew in favor of the desegregation of department store restaurants.{{cite web |title=Baltimore Sit-Ins |url=https://nvdatabase.swarthmore.edu/content/baltimore-students-sit-us-civil-rights-1960 |website=Nonviolent Datebase}} -- The students received significant support from the community, and more importantly, white involvement in favor of desegregating department store restaurants grew.
While sit-ins were by far the most prominent in 1960, they continued to be a useful tactic in the civil rights movement in the years that followed. In February 1961, students from Friendship Junior College in Rock Hill, South Carolina, organized a sit-in at a segregated lunch counter. The students were then arrested and refused to pay bail. This was part of their "Jail, No Bail" strategy,{{Cite journal |last=Schmidt |first=Christopher W. |date=2015 |title=Divided by Law: The Sit-ins and the Role of the Courts in the Civil Rights Movement |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/43670752 |journal=Law and History Review |volume=33 |issue=1 |pages=93–149 |doi=10.1017/S0738248014000509 |jstor=43670752 |issn=0738-2480|url-access=subscription }} they instead decided to serve jail time as a demonstration of their commitment to the civil rights movement.
Another example of sit-ins that were a crucial part of the civil rights movement were the Albany, Georgia sit-ins that started in December 1961. In order to advocate for civil rights and desegregate public facilities in Albany, sit-ins, boycotts, and marches were used. The Freedom Rides of 1961 also played a crucial role, with activists. Participating in sit-ins at segregated bus terminals across the South to challenge segregation in interstate transportation. This and other strong actions helped propel momentum and eventually helped lead to the removal of segregation laws in the United States.{{Citation |last=Colaiaco |first=James A. |title=The Lessons of Albany, Georgia, 1961–2 |date=1988 |work=Martin Luther King, Jr. |pages=40–53 |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-08223-0_4 |access-date=2024-04-15 |place=London |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan UK |doi=10.1007/978-1-349-08223-0_4 |isbn=978-1-349-08225-4|url-access=subscription }}
The sit-ins in Greensboro invigorated U.S. civil rights movements by reinforcing the success of other protests like the Montgomery bus boycott, which had shown how effectively a mass of people could change public opinions and governmental policies.{{Cite journal |last=Kowal |first=Rebekah J. |date=2004 |title=Staging the Greensboro Sit-Ins |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/4488599 |journal=TDR (1988-) |volume=48 |issue=4 |pages=135–154 |doi=10.1162/1054204042442008 |issn=1054-2043 |jstor=4488599|url-access=subscription }}
Before the Sit-In Movement
File:Flint Sit-Down Strike window.jpg
The sit-in movement was an integral part of the civil rights movement. It provided African Americans with a way to peacefully protest the inequality of rights throughout America. Although sit-ins are primarily remembered as a tactic used throughout the civil rights movement to challenge segregation, sit-ins can be traced back to the "sit-down" strikes during the labor movement. The main goals of the labor movement were better wages, shorter hours, and safer working conditions. In order to advocate for their rights, workers would withdraw their labor through strikes. Although effective in some cases, many laborers were fired and replaced or given ultimatums to return back to work. Because of the antiunion forces against workers, they developed the idea of the sit-down strike. As sit-down strikes were done by simply sitting down at one's work space and doing no work, employers could not replace the workers. The first successful use of the "sit-down" strike tactic was the Flint sit-down strike. This strike forced General Motors to recognize the United Auto Workers as the sole bargaining unit.{{Cite book |url=https://www.worldcat.org/title/ocm52070187 |title=Alfred P. Sloan: critical evaluations in business and management |date=2003 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-0-415-24832-7 |editor-last=Wood |editor-first=John Cunningham |location=London ; New York |oclc=ocm52070187 |editor-last2=Wood |editor-first2=Michael C.}} Due to the effectiveness of this protest tactic, sit-down strikes continued throughout the labor movement and shifted into other movements such as civil rights.
As a result of the effectiveness of the sit-down strikes during the labor movement, similar peaceful protest tactics were adopted and brought into the civil rights movement. Many civil rights leaders such as Martin Luther King Jr. and Bayard Rustin studied the "sit-down" strikes of the labor movement to learn what aspects worked and could be applied to the civil rights movement. Although the sit-in movement took place during 1960, there were many sit-ins that took place before then. Some of the earliest sit-ins that took place during the civil rights movement were in Chicago, Illinois in 1943. The Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) was founded in Chicago in 1942 by a group of university students. As many public places in Chicago are still segregated despite the Illinois Civil Rights Act of 1885, CORE decided to take action at the diners and restaurants that were known for not serving Black individuals. Their first target was Jack Spratt's Coffee House as Black members of CORE had previously been turned away from dining there. Before the sit-in, attempts were made to make an agreement with the manager of Jack Spratt's but no consensus was reached. The Jack Spratt's sit-in took place on May 14, 1943 at 4:30pm when twenty-eight members of CORE (both Black and White individuals) and demanded to be equally served in the dining area. Although it took multiple hours and police enforcement, all parties were served and the restaurant policy was changed. Due to the success of their first sit-in, CORE decided to keep their momentum going and attempt to fight the injustices at another restaurant that was known for its animosity towards African Americans. In June 1943 sixty-eight members of CORE participated in a sit-in at Stoner's Restaurant with the same goals. After pushback from the public and white CORE members, the Black members were eventually seated.{{Cite journal |last=Shah |first=Aarushi |date=November 2012 |title=All of Africa Will Be Free Before We Can Get a Lousy Cup of Coffee: The Impact of the 1943 Lunch Counter Sit-Ins on the Civil Rights Movement. |url=https://research.ebsco.com/c/pnqjwk/search/details/ycbrnqi7az?db=aph&isDashboardExpanded=true&limiters=RV%3AY%2CFT%3AY&q=+civil+rights+sit+in+movement |journal=History Teacher |volume=46 |issue=1 |pages=127–147 |via=EBSCO}}
Although the Chicago sit-ins were not widely advertised at the time, they played an extremely influential role in the sit-in movement and the civil rights movement as a whole. Sit-ins continued throughout the 1940s and 1950s unit the major sit-ins in 1960. The many sit-ins that occurred throughout the history of the civil rights movement eventually contributed to the signing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Outside Support
One of the most significant contributions to the sit-in movement came from the legal community, especially civil rights organizations like the NAACP and the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). These organizations provided both moral and logistical support to the sit-in participants, helping them organize protests and, when necessary, offering legal assistance. The NAACP's legal team, led by Thurgood Marshall, helped to challenge the discriminatory practices that the sit-ins targeted, particularly segregation laws that allowed for public establishments to deny service based on race. By filing lawsuits and assisting with legal defense, the NAACP ensured that the sit-ins had both legal visibility and the ability to sustain their momentum in the face of arrests and other forms of resistance from local authorities.Schmidt, C. W. (2015). Divided by law: The sit-ins and the role of the courts in the civil rights movement. Law and History Review, 33(1), 93-149. doi: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0738248014000509
In addition to legal support, the sit-ins received significant attention from the media. National and local newspapers, radio stations, and television networks covered the events extensively, bringing the difficult circumstances of African American youth to the forefront of the national conversation. The widespread media coverage of the sit-ins put pressure on local and state governments to address segregationist policies, while also motivating other activists and inspiring similar protests across the country. The media helped turn the sit-ins into a symbol of resistance that drew national attention to the deep-seated racial injustice common in American society.Schmidt, C. W. (2015). Divided by law: The sit-ins and the role of the courts in the civil rights movement. Law and History Review, 33(1), 93-149. doi: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0738248014000509
File:Parsonage Bethel Baptist Church and Guardhouse - EXTERIOR VIEW, FRONT (NORTH) FACADE.jpg
Moreover, the sit-ins were supported by a broad alliance of faith-based groups. Religious organizations, particularly churches and clergy members, played a key role in providing sanctuary and moral support for the participants. Many church leaders not only provided spiritual guidance but also facilitated transportation, housing, and food for the activists involved in the sit-ins. These faith-based groups recognized the sit-ins as part of a larger moral struggle for justice and equality, and their support added further legitimacy to the movement.Schmidt, C. W. (2015). Divided by law: The sit-ins and the role of the courts in the civil rights movement. Law and History Review, 33(1), 93-149. doi: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0738248014000509
Finally, the federal government, while initially hesitant to intervene, eventually became a significant player in supporting the civil rights movement. The Kennedy administration, particularly under the leadership of Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, began to offer federal protection to sit-in participants, especially when violence erupted or when protesters faced unjust treatment. This federal involvement helped mitigate the risks for many activists, giving them confidence to continue their peaceful protests, knowing that they had some form of legal protection from federal authorities.Schmidt, C. W. (2015). Divided by law: The sit-ins and the role of the courts in the civil rights movement. Law and History Review, 33(1), 93-149. doi: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0738248014000509
List of Sit-Ins
=Precursors to sit-in movement=
=1960s Sit-in=
| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center;" |
| style="width:130px;" scope="col"| Start date (1960)
! style="width:150px;" scope="col"| Sit-in(s) ! style="width:260px;" scope="col"| University or College students ! style="width:130px;" scope="col"| State ! style="width:35px;" scope="col"| {{Tooltip|Ref.|References}} ! style="width:35px;" scope="col"| Notes |
|---|
| rowspan="1"| February 1
| rowspan="1"| Greensboro sit-ins | rowspan="1"| North Carolina A&T State University | rowspan="11"| North Carolina | rowspan="1"| {{cite book|last1=Chafe|first1=William Henry|title=Civilities and Civil Rights: Greensboro, North Carolina, and the Black Struggle for Freedom|date=1981|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=9780195029192|pages=71–101|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EP7sduWSTkYC|chapter=The Sit-Ins Begin|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EP7sduWSTkYC&pg=PA71}}{{cite web|title=The Sit-in Movement|url=http://www.sitinmovement.org/history/sit-in-movement.asp|website=International Civil Rights Center & Museum|access-date=20 March 2016}} | rowspan="1"| |
| rowspan="3"| February 8
| rowspan="1"| Durham | rowspan="1"| North Carolina College | rowspan="1"| |
| rowspan="1"| Fayetteville
| rowspan="1"| Fayetteville State Teachers College | rowspan="1"| |
| rowspan="1"| Winston-Salem
| rowspan="1"| Winston-Salem Teachers College | rowspan="1"| |
| rowspan="5"| February 9
| rowspan="1"| Charlotte | rowspan="1"| Johnson C. Smith University | rowspan="1"| |
| rowspan="1"| Concord
| rowspan="1"| Barber–Scotia College | rowspan="1"| |
| rowspan="1"| Elizabeth City
| rowspan="1"| Elizabeth City State Teachers College | rowspan="1"| |
| rowspan="1"| Henderson
| rowspan="1"| | rowspan="1"| |
| rowspan="1"| High Point
| rowspan="1"| | rowspan="1"| |
| rowspan="2"| February 10
| rowspan="2"| Raleigh | rowspan="1"| Saint Augustine's College | rowspan="2"| |
| rowspan="1"| Shaw University |
| rowspan="3" | February 11
| rowspan="1"| Hampton | rowspan="1"| Hampton University | rowspan="2"| Virginia | rowspan="1"| |
| rowspan="1"| Portsmouth
| rowspan="1"| | rowspan="1"| |
| High Point
| |
| rowspan="2"| February 12
| rowspan="1"| Rock Hill | rowspan="1"| Clinton Junior College | rowspan="1"| South Carolina | rowspan="1"| |
| rowspan="1"| Norfolk
| rowspan="1"| | rowspan="1"| Virginia | rowspan="1"| {{cite web|title=Hampton Roads Heritage Project|url=http://cdm15987.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/search/searchterm/Norfolk%20Sit-ins,%20Norfolk,%20Va.,%201960./mode/exact|publisher=Norfolk Public Library|access-date=1 January 2017}} | rowspan="1"| |
| rowspan="3"| February 13
| rowspan="1"| Nashville sit-ins | rowspan="1"| Fisk University | rowspan="1"| Tennessee | rowspan="1"| {{refn|group="note"| Participants during the February 20, 17 include Patricia Stephens.}} |
| rowspan="2"| Tallahassee
| rowspan="1"| Florida A&M University | rowspan="2"| Florida | rowspan="2"| {{cite thesis|type=Ph.D.|last1=White|first1=Robert Melvin|title=The Tallahassee Sit-ins and CORE, a Nonviolent Revolutionary Submovement|date=1964|publisher=Florida State University|oclc=7563086}} | rowspan="2"| |
| rowspan="1"| Florida State University |
| rowspan="1"| February 14
| rowspan="1"| Sumter | rowspan="1"| Morris College | rowspan="1"| South Carolina | rowspan="1"| |
| rowspan="1"| February 16
| rowspan="1"| Salisbury | rowspan="1"| Livingstone College | rowspan="1"| |
| rowspan="2"| February 18
| rowspan="1"| Charleston | rowspan="1"| | rowspan="1"| South Carolina | rowspan="1"| |
| rowspan="1"| Shelby
| rowspan="1"| | rowspan="1"| North Carolina | rowspan="1"| |
| rowspan="1"| February 19
| rowspan="1"| Chattanooga | rowspan="1"| | rowspan="1"| Tennessee | rowspan="1"| {{cite thesis|degree=M.A.|last1=Harris|first1=Jessie|title=Unfamiliar Streets: The Chattanooga Sit-ins, the Local Press, and the Concern for Civilities|date=2011|publisher=Virginia Commonwealth University|oclc=727069042|url=http://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=3394&context=etd}} | rowspan="1"| |
| rowspan="1"| February 20
| rowspan="1"| Richmond | rowspan="1"| Virginia Union University | rowspan="1"| Virginia | rowspan="1"| {{cite book|last1=Wallenstein|first1=Peter|title=Blue Laws and Black Codes: Conflict, Courts, and Change in Twentieth-Century Virginia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xXI3QHGF4Q8C|date=2013|publisher=University of Virginia Press|isbn=9780813924878|pages=114–141|chapter=To Sit or Not to Sit: Scenes in Richmond from the Civil Rights Movement|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xXI3QHGF4Q8C&q=Richmond+sit-ins&pg=PT91}} | rowspan="1"| {{refn|group="note"| 34 students would participate and be arrested. They became known as the Richmond 34.}} |
| rowspan="2"| February 22
| rowspan="1"| Baltimore | rowspan="1"| Coppin State Teachers College | rowspan="1"| Maryland | rowspan="1"| |
| rowspan="1"| Frankfort
| rowspan="1"| State Normal School for Colored Persons | rowspan="1"| Kentucky | rowspan="1"| |
| rowspan="2"| February 25
| rowspan="1"| Montgomery | rowspan="1"| Alabama State College | rowspan="1"| Alabama | rowspan="1"| {{refn|group="note"| The sit-in targeted a state capitol cafeteria and was led by Bernard Lee accompanied by three dozen students.}} |
| rowspan="1"| Orangeburg
| rowspan="1"| Claflin College | rowspan="1"| South Carolina | rowspan="1"| |
| rowspan="3"| February 26
| rowspan="1"| Lexington | rowspan="1"| | rowspan="1"| Kentucky | rowspan="1"| |
| rowspan="1"| Petersburg
| rowspan="1"| Virginia State College | rowspan="1"| Virginia | rowspan="1"| |
| rowspan="1"| Tuskegee
| rowspan="1"| Tuskegee Institute | rowspan="1"| Alabama | rowspan="1"| |
| rowspan="1"| February 27
| rowspan="1"| Tampa | rowspan="1"| | rowspan="1"| Florida | rowspan="1"| |
| February 28
| rowspan="1" | Chapel Hill | rowspan="1" | | rowspan="1" | |
| rowspan="4"| March 2
| rowspan="2"| Columbia | rowspan="1"| Allen University | rowspan="2"| South Carolina | rowspan="2"| |
| rowspan="1"| Benedict College |
| rowspan="1"| Daytona Beach
| rowspan="1"| Bethune–Cookman College | rowspan="2"| Florida | rowspan="1"| |
| rowspan="1"| St. Petersburg
| rowspan="1"| | rowspan="1"| |
| rowspan="2"| March 4
| rowspan="1"| Houston | rowspan="1"| Texas Southern University | rowspan="1"| Texas | rowspan="1"| {{cite book|last1=Jensen|first1=F. Kenneth|editor1-last=Beeth|editor1-first=Howard|editor2-last=Wintz|editor2-first=Cary D.|title=Black Dixie: Afro-Texan History and Culture in Houston|date=1992|publisher=Texas A&M University Press|isbn=9780890964941|chapter=The Houston Sit-In Movement of 1960–61}} | rowspan="1"| {{refn|group="note"| Participants include Texas Southern University student and leader Holly Hogrobrooks. Also see Ku Klux Klan victim Felton Turner.{{cite news|last1=Causey|first1=Causey|title=Houston Civil Rights Pioneer Holly Hogrobrooks Dies at 75|url=http://www.chron.com/news/houston-deaths/article/Houston-civil-rights-pioneer-Holly-Hogrobrooks-6802509.php|access-date=15 December 2016|work=Chron.com|publisher=Houston Chronicle|date=February 3, 2016}}{{cite web|title=Houston Student Movement|url=http://houstonstudentmovement.com/main.html|access-date=15 December 2016}}{{cite AV media|last1=Berman|first1=David|last2=Cole|first2=Thomas R.|title=The Strange Demise of Jim Crow: How Houston Desegregated Its Public Accommodations, 1959–1963|date=1998|medium=Video recording|publisher=California Newsreel|oclc=44721721}}}} |
| rowspan="1"| Miami
| rowspan="1"| Florida Memorial College | rowspan="1"| Florida | rowspan="1"| |
| rowspan="1"| March 7
| rowspan="1"| Knoxville | rowspan="1"| Knoxville College | rowspan="1"| Tennessee | rowspan="1"| {{cite journal|last1=Fleming|first1=Cynthia Griggs|title=White Lunch Counters and Black Consciousness: The Story of the Knoxville Sit-ins|journal=Tennessee Historical Quarterly|date=Spring 1990|volume=49|issue=1|pages=40–52}}{{cite journal|last1=Zagumny|first1=Lisa L.|title=Sit-Ins in Knoxville, Tennessee: A Case Study of Political Rhetoric|journal=The Journal of Negro History|date=Winter 2001|volume=86|issue=1|pages=45–54|doi=10.2307/1350178|jstor=1350178|s2cid=141496195}} | rowspan="1"| |
| rowspan="2"| March 8
| rowspan="2"| New Orleans | rowspan="1"| Dillard University | rowspan="2"| Louisiana | rowspan="2"| |
| rowspan="1"| Southern University |
| rowspan="1"| March 10
| rowspan="1"| Little Rock | rowspan="1"| Arkansas Baptist College | rowspan="1"| Arkansas | rowspan="1"| |
| rowspan="2"| March 11
| rowspan="1"| Austin | rowspan="1"| Huston–Tillotson College | rowspan="2"| Texas | rowspan="1"| |
| rowspan="1"| Galveston
| rowspan="1"| | rowspan="1"| |
| rowspan="1"| March 12
| rowspan="1"| Jacksonville | rowspan="1"| Edward Waters College | rowspan="1"| Florida | rowspan="1"| |
| rowspan="1"| March 13
| rowspan="1"| San Antonio | rowspan="1"| | rowspan="1"| Texas | rowspan="1"| |
| rowspan="9"| March 15
| rowspan="4"| Atlanta sit-ins | rowspan="1"| Clark College | rowspan="4"| Georgia | rowspan="4"| {{cite book|last1=Garrow|first1=David J.|title=Atlanta Georgia, 1960–1961: Sit Ins and Student Activism|date=1989|publisher=Carlson Publishing|isbn=9780926019058}} | rowspan="4"| {{refn|group="note"| Participants include Morehouse College student Charles Person.}} |
| rowspan="1"| Morehouse College |
| rowspan="1"| Morris Brown College |
| rowspan="1"| Spelman College |
| rowspan="2"| Orangeburg
| rowspan="1"| South Carolina State University | rowspan="2"| South Carolina | rowspan="2"| {{refn|group="note"|Resulted in the largest mass arrest (388) of the Civil Rights Movement up to that point.}} |
| rowspan="1"| Claflin College |
| rowspan="1"| Corpus Christi
| rowspan="1"| | rowspan="1"| Texas | rowspan="1"| |
| rowspan="1"| St. Augustine
| rowspan="1"| | rowspan="1"| Florida | rowspan="1"| |
| rowspan="1"| Statesville
| rowspan="1"| | rowspan="1"| North Carolina | rowspan="1"| |
| rowspan="1"| March 16
| rowspan="1"| Savannah | rowspan="1"| Savannah State College | rowspan="1"| Georgia | rowspan="1"| |
| rowspan="1"| March 17
| rowspan="1"| New Bern | rowspan="1"| | rowspan="1"| North Carolina | rowspan="1"| |
| rowspan="3"| March 19
| rowspan="1"| Memphis | rowspan="1"| Owen Junior College | rowspan="1"| Tennessee | rowspan="1"| |
| rowspan="1"| Wilmington
| rowspan="1"| | rowspan="1"| North Carolina | rowspan="1"| |
| rowspan="1"| Arlington
| rowspan="1"| | rowspan="1"| Virginia | rowspan="1"| |
| rowspan="1"| March 26
| rowspan="1"| Lynchburg | rowspan="1"|Randolph-Macon Woman's College; Lynchburg College; and Virginia Theological Seminary and College | rowspan="1"| Virginia | rowspan="1"| {{Cite web |date=2020-12-14 |title=Remembering the Patterson Six: A decision to make a stand for civil rights earned two R-MWC students jail time—and a spot in history |url=https://www.randolphcollege.edu/news/2020/12/remembering-the-patterson-six-a-decision-to-make-a-stand-for-civil-rights-earned-two-r-mwc-students-jail-time-and-a-spot-in-history/ |access-date=2023-03-01 |website=News and Events |language=en-US}} | rowspan="1"| |
| rowspan="2"| March 28
| rowspan="1"| Baton Rouge | rowspan="1"| Southern University | rowspan="2"| Louisiana | rowspan="1"| {{refn|group="note"| Sit-in led to Garner v. Louisiana (1961) case.}} |
| rowspan="1"| New Orleans
| rowspan="1"| Xavier University | rowspan="1"| |
| rowspan="1"| March 29
| rowspan="1"| Marshall | rowspan="1"| Wiley College | rowspan="1"| Texas | rowspan="1"| {{cite journal|last1=Seals|first1=Donald Jr.|title=The Wiley-Bishop Student Movement: A Case Study in the 1960 Civil Rights Sit-Ins|journal=The Southwestern Historical Quarterly|date=January 2003|volume=106|issue=3|pages=418–440}} | rowspan="1"| |
| rowspan="2"| March 31
| rowspan="2"| Birmingham | rowspan="1"| Wenonah State Technical Institute | rowspan="2"| Alabama | rowspan="2"| |
| rowspan="1"| Miles College |
| rowspan="1"| April 2
| rowspan="1"| Danville | rowspan="1"| | rowspan="1"| Virginia | rowspan="1"| |
| rowspan="1"| April 4
| rowspan="1"| Darlington | rowspan="1"| | rowspan="1"| South Carolina | rowspan="1"| |
| rowspan="1"| April 9
| rowspan="1"| Augusta | rowspan="1"| Paine College | rowspan="1"| Georgia | rowspan="1"| |
| rowspan="1"| April 12
| rowspan="1"| Norfolk | rowspan="1"| Virginia State College (Norfolk Division) | rowspan="1"| Virginia | rowspan="1"| |
| rowspan="1"| April 17
| rowspan="1"| Biloxi | rowspan="1"| | rowspan="2"| Mississippi | rowspan="1"| |
| rowspan="1"| April 23
| rowspan="1"| Starkville | rowspan="1"| | rowspan="1"| |
| rowspan="1"| April 24
| rowspan="1"| Charleston | rowspan="1"| Burke High School | rowspan="1"| South Carolina | rowspan="1"| {{cite book|last1=Baker|first1=R. Scott|title=Paradoxes of Desegregation: African American Struggles for Educational Equity in Charleston, South Carolina, 1926–1972|date=2006|publisher=University of South Carolina Press|isbn=9781570036323|pages=142–143|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MzYAF_GzaXsC&q=charleston%20sit-in%20Harvey%20Gantt&pg=PA142}} | rowspan="1"| {{refn|group="note"| Led by James Blake and occurred at the Kress store on King Street.}} |
| rowspan="1"| April 28
| rowspan="1"| Dallas | rowspan="1"| Paul Quinn College | rowspan="1"| Texas | rowspan="1"| |
| rowspan="1"| June 9
| rowspan="1"| Cherrydale sit-ins | rowspan="1"| Howard University | rowspan="1"| Virginia | rowspan="1"| |
| rowspan="1"| June 17
| rowspan="1"| Baltimore | rowspan="1"| | rowspan="1"| Maryland | rowspan="1"| {{cite news|title=Recalling a 1960 Baltimore Sit-in|url=http://www.politico.com/story/2013/10/recalling-a-1960-baltimore-sit-in-098893|access-date=11 December 2016|work=Politico|agency=Associated Press|date=October 27, 2013}} | rowspan="1"| {{refn|group="note"| Sit-in led to Bell v. Maryland (1964) case that involved Robert M. Bell.{{cite journal|last1=Reynolds|first1=William L.|title=Foreword: The Legal History of the Great Sit-in Case of Bell v. Maryland|journal=Maryland Law Review|date=2002|volume=61|issue=4|pages=761–794|url=http://digitalcommons.law.umaryland.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=3167&context=mlr}}}}Related post-1960 sit-ins |
See also
- The Children, 1999 book on the Nashville Student Movement
- Women's War
- Julius sip-in, LGBT protest inspired by the sit-in movement
{{Portal|1960s|Civil rights movement}}
Notes
{{reflist|20em|group="note"}}
References
Further reading
=Books=
- {{cite book|last1=Carson|first1=Clayborne|title=In Struggle: SNCC and the Black Awakening of the 1960s|date=1981|publisher=Harvard University Press|isbn=9780674447271|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Fm9v7KKj_UQC&pg=PP1}}
- {{cite book|last1=Meier|first1=August|last2=Rudwick|first2=Elliott M.|title=CORE: A Study in the Civil Rights Movement, 1942–1968|date=1975|publisher=University of Illinois Press|isbn=9780252005671}}
- {{cite book|last1=Morgan|first1=Iwan W.|last2=Davies|first2=Philip|title=From Sit-ins to SNCC: The Student Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s|date=2012|publisher=University Press of Florida|isbn=9780813041513}}
- {{cite book|last1=Oppenheimer|first1=Martin|title=The Sit-In Movement of 1960|date=1989|publisher=Carlson Publishing|isbn=9780926019102}}
- {{cite book|last1=Schmidt|first1=Christopher W.|title=The Sit-Ins: Protest and Legal Change in the Civil Rights Era|date=2018|publisher=University of Chicago Press|isbn=9780226522449|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qupODwAAQBAJ}}
- {{cite book|last1=Terry|first1=David Taft|title=The Struggle and the Urban South|date=2019|publisher=University of Georgia Press|isbn=9780820355078|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=J5afDwAAQBAJ}}
=Journals=
- {{cite journal|last1=Ervin|first1=Brad|title=Result or Reason: The Supreme Court and the Sit-In Cases|journal=Virginia Law Review|date=March 2007|volume=93|issue=1|pages=181–233}}
- {{cite journal|last1=Gilbert|first1=Martin G.|title=Theories of State Action as Applied to the Sit-in Cases|journal=Arkansas Law Review|date=Summer 1963|volume=17|pages=147–}}
- {{cite journal|title=Hamm v. City of Rock Hill: Out of the Frying Pan|journal=Ohio State Law Journal|date=1965|volume=26|issue=4|pages=659–678|hdl=1811/68789}}
- {{cite journal|last1=Lewis|first1=Thomas P.|title=The Sit-in Cases: Great Expectations|journal=The Supreme Court Review|date=1963|volume=1963|pages=101–151|doi=10.1086/scr.1963.3108730|s2cid=146825976}}
- {{cite journal|last1=Morris|first1=Aldon|title=Black Southern Student Sit-in Movement: An Analysis of Internal Organization|journal=American Sociological Review|date=December 1981|volume=46|issue=6|pages=744–767|url=http://www.sscnet.ucla.edu/polisci/faculty/chwe/ps269/morris.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200807054000/http://www.sscnet.ucla.edu/polisci/faculty/chwe/ps269/morris.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-date=August 7, 2020|doi=10.2307/2095077|jstor=2095077}}
- {{cite journal|last1=Paulsen|first1=Monrad G.|title=The Sit-in Cases of 1964: "But Answer Came There None"|journal=Supreme Court Review|volume=1964|date=1964|pages=137–|doi=10.1086/scr.1964.3108696|s2cid=147484895}}
- {{cite journal|last1=Pollitt|first1=Daniel H.|title=Dime Store Demonstrations: Events and Legal Problems of First Sixty Days|journal=Duke Law Journal|date=1960|volume=9|issue=1|pages=315–365|doi=10.2307/1371082|jstor=1371082|url=http://scholarship.law.duke.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1720&context=dlj|url-access=subscription}}
- {{cite journal|last1=Riva|first1=Sarah|title=Desegregating Downtown Little Rock: The Field Reports of SNCC's Bill Hansen, October 23 to December 3, 1962|journal=The Arkansas Historical Quarterly|date=Autumn 2012|volume=71|issue=3|pages=264–282}}
- {{cite journal|last1=Schmidt|first1=Christopher W.|title=The Sit-Ins and the State Action Doctrine|journal=William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal|date=2010|volume=18|issue=3|pages=767–829|url=http://scholarship.law.wm.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1170&context=wmborj}}
- {{cite journal|last1=Schmidt|first1=Christopher W.|title=Divided by Law: The Sit-Ins and the Role of the Courts in the Civil Rights Movement|journal=Law and History Review|date=February 1, 2015|volume=33|issue=1|pages=93–149|doi=10.1017/S0738248014000509|s2cid=232400894}}
- {{cite journal|last1=Schmidt|first1=Christopher W.|title=Why the 1960 Lunch Counter Sit-Ins Worked: A Case Study of Law and Social Movement Mobilization|journal=Indiana Journal of Law and Social Equality|date=Spring 2017|volume=5|issue=2|pages=281–300|url=http://www.repository.law.indiana.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1065&context=ijlse}}
- {{cite journal|last1=Walters|first1=Ronald|title=Standing Up in America's Heartland: Sitting in Before Greensboro|journal=American Visions|date=February 1993|volume=8|issue=1|pages=20–23}}
External links
- {{cite web|title=The Student Protest Movement: A Recapitulation|url=http://www.crmvet.org/info/6109_src_sitins.pdf|website=Crmvet.org|publisher=Southern Regional Council|access-date=2 January 2017|date=September 1961}}
- {{cite web|title=Sit-ins: A Chronological Listing of the Cities In Which Demonstrations Have Occurred, February 1 – March 31, 1960|url=http://www.crmvet.org/docs/6004_sitin-list.pdf|website=Crmvet.org|publisher=unknown author|access-date=2 January 2017}}
- {{cite web|last1=Zinn|first1=Howard|title=Notes: Chronology of Student Sit-Ins and Freedom Rides, 1960–1961|url=http://www.crmvet.org/docs/zinn_studentmovement.pdf|website=Crmvet.org|access-date=2 January 2017}}
{{Sit-in movement}}
{{Civil rights movement}}
{{African American topics}}
Category:Nonviolent resistance movements
Category:Civil disobedience in the United States
Category:Civil rights movement protests