The Monday afternoon when four A&T students challenged segregation at Kress and Woolworth’s

The Kress Lunch Counter Sit-In of February 1, 1960

Four young Black men walked into Woolworth’s in downtown Greensboro, North Carolina on February 1, 1960. Joseph McNeil, Franklin McCain, Ezell Blair Jr., and David Richmond sat at the whites-only lunch counter.

When asked to leave, they refused. Instead, they stayed until the store closed.

This bold action started a six-month protest that forced Woolworth’s to change its rules and inspired similar protests across America.

Four Students Plan A Bold Challenge

Joseph McNeil grew angry after being refused service at the Greensboro bus station during Christmas break 1959. He had enough of segregation laws.

McNeil and his college friends Franklin McCain, Ezell Blair Jr., and David Richmond talked about fighting back peacefully. They studied Gandhi’s protest methods in their dorm room.

The four friends decided to challenge the whites-only policy at Woolworth’s lunch counter. Ralph Johns, a white businessman who supported civil rights, promised to call reporters when they began.

The First Day At Woolworth’s Counter

The four students entered Woolworth’s at 4:30 pm on February 1. First, they bought small items and kept their receipts to prove they were customers.

Then they sat at the large lunch counter. Black people could shop in the store but couldn’t eat at this counter.

When they asked for coffee, the waitress refused. “We don’t serve colored here.”

Store manager Clarence Harris told them to leave. The students stayed quietly in their seats until closing time at 5:30.

Police Response To The First Sit-In

The lunch counter manager called the police when the students wouldn’t leave. Officers came quickly to the scene.

Ralph Johns had called local reporters as promised. News people watched to see what would happen.

The police found no reason to remove the young men. They had made purchases, behaved politely, and broken no laws.

Without any troublemaking, the police had no grounds to arrest them. The peaceful approach was working exactly as planned.

Twenty More Students Join On Day Two

The Greensboro Four returned to Woolworth’s on February 2 with reinforcements.

Twenty more students, including women from Bennett College, joined them at the lunch counter. Together, they requested service and were refused.

White customers stared and yelled insults at the growing group. The waitresses continued to ignore their requests for food.

News reporters and a TV cameraman filmed the second day of protests. That evening, people across Greensboro saw the peaceful protesters on their local news.

The Protest Grows To Sixty On Day Three

By February 3, more than 60 students packed the lunch counter. They filled 63 of the 66 seats, bringing textbooks to study while they sat.

Students from Dudley High School joined the college protesters. About one-third of the participants were women.

The growing crowd made it impossible for Woolworth’s to run its lunch counter normally. Every seat filled with protesters meant lost business for the store.

Management faced a tough choice: change their whites-only policy or keep losing money.

Expansion To Kress Store On Fourth Day

On February 4, the protest spread to S.H. Kress & Co. department store’s lunch counter down the street.

More than 300 protesters participated. The crowds filled Woolworth’s and spilled onto the sidewalk.

Three white female students from the nearby women’s college joined in support.

Store managers from Woolworth and Kress met with college officials but refused to change their segregation policies. The talks failed to resolve anything, so the protests continued.

Tensions Rise With Counter-Protesters

White opposition grew stronger on February 5. About 50 white men took seats at the Woolworth counter to block Black protesters.

Some spat on the Black students. Others shouted insults and threats.

One white man set a Black protester’s coat on fire and was arrested. Police removed two more white men for causing trouble.

Despite these attacks, the Black students stayed calm and peaceful. Their numbers kept growing even in the face of hatred.

The Protest Reaches Its Peak

February 6 saw the biggest crowd yet. More than 1,400 people packed Woolworth’s by noon.

Those who couldn’t fit inside formed lines on the sidewalks, carrying signs against segregation.

At 1:00 pm, someone called in a bomb threat. The caller claimed a bomb would go off at 1:30.

Both Woolworth’s and Kress closed immediately for the day. Store owners started to feel the financial impact of the protests.

The Movement Spreads Beyond Greensboro

News of the Greensboro protests spread fast. By February 8, students in Winston-Salem and Durham started their own sit-ins.

Within weeks, similar protests happened in more than 30 places across 7 states.

By the end of March 1960, sit-ins took place in 55 cities across 13 states. The movement grew beyond what anyone expected.

Eventually, about 70,000 people joined sit-ins across America. Four students in Greensboro had started a nationwide movement against segregation.

The Birth Of Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee

The sit-ins’ success led to a meeting of student activists in April 1960 at Shaw University in Raleigh.

Ella Baker, a civil rights leader, organized this gathering to unite student protesters from across the South.

This meeting created the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), a group focused on youth activism for civil rights.

SNCC became a major force in the Civil Rights Movement, later organizing Freedom Rides, voter registration drives, and participating in the 1963 March on Washington.

Visiting International Civil Rights Center & Museum, Greensboro

The International Civil Rights Center & Museum occupies the former Woolworth building at 134 S. Elm Street in downtown Greensboro. The museum preserves the actual lunch counter where the Greensboro Four made history.

Guided tours take about 75 minutes and run hourly Tuesday through Saturday from 10am to 4pm, with Sunday tours at 2pm. The museum closes on Mondays.

Adult tickets cost $15 with discounts for seniors, students, and children. Photos aren’t allowed inside the exhibits.

Nearby, visit North Carolina A&T State University’s campus to see the February One Monument honoring the four students who changed America.

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