Sit-in movement

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). 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.

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. 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.

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. 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. Sit-ins also frequently occurred in segregated facilities in Oklahoma City between 1958 and 1964.

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. 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. 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. 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. -- 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, 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.

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.