The Protest Of Fredericksburg In The 1960's

With school boards avoiding integration once again, Greensboro civil rights activists were becoming anxious to desegregate public facilities in order to be successful unlike public schools. Dr. George Simkins pushed for the desegregation of all public facilities in Greensboro, and he even succeeded in doing so for golf courses. Four black students were inspired and tired of the racial inequality they had grown up in, so they arranged a non-violent protest by simply sitting in Woolworth’s Diner and demanding service. The protest tactic grew in numbers as more students, both male and female, endorsed the movement. In response, young white males began participating by verbally and physically assaulting some of the demonstrators, and government officials wanted store managers to arrange for the arrest of protestors before the situation got too unruly. Blacks boycotted the purchase of goods until they were served like their white counterparts, but the protests scared away the white consumers causing the stores and diners’ sales to drop. Diners and department stores worked in accordance to agree on a procedure to desegregate lunch counters. Select department stores refused to desegregate entire facilities, and most people believed that they did not have to because they had already compromised. Certain businesses did not want to segregate and

From Cherokee Indians refusing to abandon their homes in 1838 to the Sit-ins of the civil rIghts movement in the early 1960s, people have been using acts of civil disobedience to stand against injustice they saw in their communities. Although there are many examples of people abusing this benefit and causing more grief and shame than progress, many have used it to their advantage to bring about positive change for the greater good of society, therefore acts of civil disobedience can positively impact a free society if they remain peaceful, respectful, and justified.

After the blacks got the right to vote the whites responded with not letting the blacks use the same public facilities as them. (A&E Television Networks, 2009) The blacks than had to have separate bathrooms and water fountains. As they wanted to join the military they were still discriminated against and got paid less, as the cold war came president Truman ended discrimination towards blacks in the military. In 1957 nine black kids showed up to Central High School and the school responded with sending in the national guard to escort them out. (A&E Television Networks,

In Fredericksburg in July 1960 there was sit-in protests on the intersection of Caroline and William which stood three national chain stores. Usually sit-in protest are done mostly by college students but Fredericksburg didn’t have a college that promoted black students so high school students were the majority of the protesters. The students were taught what to do when they were sitting at the counters so they couldn’t get in trouble for touching things. The students would take shifts and go to all the different stores. They did this everyday until they stores would serve all the African American people at the stores.

The Greensboro Lunch Counter Sit-In was a civil rights event that occurred in 1960. Young African-American college students staged a sit-in at a segregated Woolworth’s lunch counter in Greensboro, North Carolina. They refused to leave the diner after being denied service. The sit-in movement soon spread to college towns throughout the South. Many protesters were arrested for trespassing, disorderly conduct, or disturbing the peace. The actions of a few made an immediate and long lasting impact which forced Woolworth’s and other businesses to change policies of segregation.

Freedom day was written in dedication to the Stonewall Riots. In the first stanza, the listeners are put into the point of view as gay person during the time period.“ Liberty denied” refers to the many gay people whose rights were often violated by the police. At the time, the positive views about homosexuality was taboo, and deemed illegal as there were laws agaisnt homosexaulity in many areas of the country. The negative views cast on homosexaulity and made it possible for the police to raid any gay club to search for “illegal” activities, which the Stonewall Inn had to go through. “ No sense asking the way, No one on your side” shows the frustration that many lgbt+ people had, trying to peacefully claim their rights they had as U.S. citizens.

We want discrimination in public accommodation to cease,”says Dubois.(TeachingAmericanHistory.org) For many years African-Americans have been treated negatively. There have been several rights put into place to make sure African-Americans have the same basic rights as White Americans. Surely without Rosa Parks, the NAACP and many others; African Americans may have still been riding on the back of the bus. Water fountains, restrooms, movie theaters, stores and even schools were separated and labeled for whites only or colored. Sadly, there are some places that are still separated, but now hide their racist intents by making their establishments for members only. Washington tells a story about Cadet Henry Baker that was mistreated at the naval base in Annapolis. He states that, “I recite this incident not for the purpose merely of condemning the wrong done a member of my race; no, no, not that.” (Washington, 1932) Cadet Baker was treated unfairly, yet Washington would not condemn the other cadets for treating Cadet Baker unfairly because of his

The American Civil Rights Movement of 1960 broke through barriers and walls for equality. It was a major win for the efforts of many against racial oppression. Allowing individuals of different races to participate in the same schools, equal voting rights, and much more, this movement paved way for several others in succession.

Four black students from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical College begin a sit-in at a segregated Woolworth's lunch counter. They were refused service due to assimilation as African American’s however, through self-determination and courage of there native title, they remained seated at the counter to challenge racial inequality and segregation. This was to show how the right and freedoms of African Americans were neglegted. The idea of non-violence and peaceful protests spread through the South to continuine to highlight the issue of

The fight for legal segregation from African American communities started at the earliest years of the 19th century. Through protests, sit-ins, boycotts, rebellion, and civil rights movements, the tactics of disobedience grew throughout the mid 1900’s when segregation was at an all time high. The approach from African American communities was strictly to remain non-violent; however, through disobedience, came destruction.

In the 1950’s, the Civil Rights movement took place and shocked the world in many ways. African Americans would use various forms of civil disobedience to express their opposed feelings towards segregation laws and discrimination. A group of four college students in North Carolina sat on a “Whites Only” counter at a restaurant in peaceful protest to show they have the right to sit wherever they pleased, no matter the color

In Nashville, Tennessee, black students, tired of their treatment wanted to make changes and were drawn to Jim Lawson’s nonviolent workshops. John Lewis, Angela Butler, and Diane Nash led the first of many sit-ins, peacefully taking a spot at the lunch counter and doing homework since they were refused service. Nothing happened that day other

As Mohandas Gandhi once said, the purpose of civil disobedience is not “to defeat or humiliate your opponents, but to win their friendship and understanding.” During the Civil Right Movement African Americans were not the only ones fighting for equality, and desegregation. In 1960, the lunch counter sit-in in Greensboro, NC, which were race segregated, created a domino effect of other sit-ins all over the South, including not only black, but also whites. This led to the creation of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, and 3,600 arrests nationwide. The alliance of whites and blacks in this demonstration shows how blacks were not looking for “special rights”, as some people suggested, but for equal rights that even whites accepted that civil disobedience was completely justified and was actually very gutsy thing to do; when taking into account all the harassment the activist who participated in in the sit-ins experienced ("A Selective List Of Historic Civil Disobedience Actions.”;

While researching this event, I found that one African American woman, who worked as a dishwasher in the restaurant, actually opposed the sit-in, calling the four students “ignorant” and “troublemakers”. The white individuals working for and dining at the restaurant were most likely very taken aback by the students’ nerve. They had probably become quite accustomed to African Americans simply accepting the “separate but equal” mentality of most businesses and communities at the time. Many individuals in the restaurant may have even been disgusted or angered at the idea of sharing their space with the African American students. The restaurant workers and owners were probably very angry due to the fact that they lost customers and were forced to close early due to the

On the night of February 8, 1968, Orangeburg patrolmen opened fire on a group of students protesting against racial segregation. The conflict arose over time due to differentiating viewpoints on the topic of segregation and because African Americans were forbidden from entering private establishments. However, this conflict was resolved after the South Carolinian government compromised with racial protestors; protestors would serve jail time, and South Carolina would become a racially integrated state. This compromise led to the dwindle of violent protests. Due to the conflict of civil rights in 1968 in South Carolina, the South Carolinian government compromised and integrated a majority of the white only establishments, as a result of numerous protests across the state. One of the major protests, the Orangeburg Massacre, was a huge stepping stone towards persuading the South Carolinian government to creating the racially equal society that we know today.