The "Greensboro Four" waiting to be served at Woolworth's |
February One: The Greensboro Four - Feburary 10th, 7pm scroll down for links and resouces
Locally initiated boycotts of segregated buses, especially the Montgomery bus boycott of 1955-1956, were designed to unite and mobilize black communities on a commonly-shared concern. Protestors refused to ride on the buses, opting instead to walk or carpool. The nearly one year-long boycott ended bus segregation in Montgomery and triggered other bus boycotts such as the highly successful Tallahassee, Florida boycott of 1956-1957. Student-organized sit-ins like the February 1960 protest at Woolworth's lunch counter in Greensboro, North Carolina, offered young men and women with no special skills or resources an opportunity to display their discontent and raise white awareness. Protestors were encouraged to dress up, sit quietly, and occupy every other stool so potential white sympathizers could join in. The success of the Greensboro sit-in led to a rash of student campaigns all across the South. By the end of 1960 the sit-ins had spread to every southern and border state and even to Nevada, Illinois, and Ohio. Demonstrators focused not only on lunch counters but on parks, beaches, libraries, theaters, museums, and other public places. When they were arrested, student demonstrators made "jail-no-bail" pledges to call attention to their cause and to reverse the cost of protest (putting the financial burden of jail space and food on the "jailors"). Guest speaker, Jimmy Collier, will lead the discussion after the file. Jimmy Collier is a living legend, Collier worked with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. during the Civil Rights movement, the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), Pete Seeger and the Hudson River Clearwater. Collier has been involved in some of the core events of our country’s history. A muscian, born in Fort Smith, Arkansas, he has captivated audiences in Carnegie Hall, Madison Square Garden, the Houston Astrodome, and on Sesame Street, with his driving rhythms, joy and earnestness. He was chosen as one of the performers at President Jimmy Carter’s inauguration. A former resident of the Monterey Bay area, Jim now lives in Mariposa, California.
Related Articles and Sites: PBS's Independent Lens - about the film The National Park Service's site devoted to historic places of the Civil Rights Movement The official production website of February One History and resources of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). Jim Crow History African American Odyssey The Rise and Fall of Jim Crow Greensboro Sit-ins: the Launch of the Civil Rights Movement International Civil Rights Center and Museum Stanford Papers Project Truman Library Civil Rights Movement Veterans Music of the Civil Rights Movement
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