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Woolworth Sit In and the Jim Crow Laws

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The Jim Crow laws had a large impact on American history. For years African Americans had to live under a law that separated them from the rest of the white population. These laws made African Americans outcasts and forced them to be low class members of society. The law considered them “Separate but equal” but indeed they were not. African Americans were discriminated against all over the United States. They weren’t allowed to drink from the same water fountains or ride the same seats on the bus. They were usually given lesser quality versions of whatever their white counterparts had. These Jim Crow laws were strictly enforced in many southern areas and punishment for breaking the law could be very severe. Blacks in the United States lived under these laws for generations until a series of protests and movements helped redefine what equality really is. One of these protests took place in the city of Greensboro, North Carolina, when African American college students took a stand for their equality. They peacefully demonstrated that they would no longer be discriminated against and wanted to be treated as equal as anyone else.
On February 1, 1960, Joseph McNeil, Franklin McCain, David Richmond, and Ezell Blair Jr, all walked into a Woolworth store in Greensboro North Carolina. The young men browsed the store like many of them had done before. They purchased items like toothpaste and school supplies at the front register with ease. The “Greensboro Four” as they would later be

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