Sit ins, Freedom Riders, March on Washington

Greensboro Sit-in, Freedom Ride, March on Washington

THE GREENSBORO SIT-IN

•In 1960, a group of four freshmen from the historically
Black North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State
University began planning a way to protest segregation.

•The four Black students (Joseph McNeil, Franklin
McCain, Ezell Blair Jr., and David Richmond) were
inspired by Martin Luther King and his practice of
nonviolent protest.

Multiple Choice

In what year did a group of four freshmen from the historically
Black North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State
University began planning a way to protest segregation?

• 1950

• 1955

• 1962

• 1960

THE GREENSBORO SIT-IN

•They decided to protest against the “whites only” lunch
counters at their local Greensboro, North Carolina
Woolworths. The plan was simple but effective: the four
men would occupy seats, ask to be served, and when
they were inevitably denied service, they would not
leave.

•They would repeat this process day in and day out, for
as long as it would take. Their thinking was that, if they
could attract widespread attention to the issue,
Woolworth would feel pressured to desegregate.

Multiple Choice

What did they decide to protest against?

• Increase in minimum wage

• Segregated Schools

• White only lunch counters

• Slavery

THE GREENSBORO SIT-IN

• On February 1, 1960, the Greensboro Four (as they

would later be known) were refused service at the store’s
lunch counter when they each asked for a cup of coffee.
The four freshmen stayed until the store closed that night,
and then went back to campus, where they recruited
more students to join them the next day.

• The sit-in grew over the following weeks with protestors

taking every seat in the establishment and spilling out of
the store. As protestors were arrested, others would take
their places so that the establishment was unceasingly
occupied.

Multiple Choice

When protesters in the "Sit in" would get arrested, what happened?

• Others took their place

• The store closed

• Everyone went home

• The police barricaded the restaurant

THE GREENSBORO SIT-IN

• The protest spread to other cities, including Atlanta and

Nashville. After months of protests, facilities began to
desegregate throughout the country, and the Greensboro
Woolworths started to serve African American patrons in
July.

• While not the first sit-in of the Civil Rights Movement, the

Greensboro sit-ins are considered a catalyst to the
subsequent sit-in movement. These sit-ins led to
increased national support for desegregation.

Dropdown

​ Did these "Sit-in" protests work?​

Select answer

THE FREEDOM RIDERS

•By 1961, Supreme Court cases had ruled that segregated
public buses, terminals, and restrooms were
unconstitutional. However, southern states ignored the
rulings and the federal government did nothing to enforce
them, and Jim Crow travel laws remained in force
throughout the South.

•The Freedom Riders were a group of civil rights activists
who planned to challenge local laws on segregation by
riding interstate buses in the South in mixed racial groups.
The Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) sponsored most
of the subsequent Freedom Rides, but some were also
organized by the Student Nonviolent Coordinating
Committee (SNCC).

Multiple Choice

Who were a group of civil rights activists
who planned to challenge local laws on segregation by
riding interstate buses in the South in mixed racial groups?

• Freedom Savers

• Life Savers

• Freedom Riders

• Ghost Riders

THE FREEDOM RIDERS

•The first Freedom Ride left Washington, D.C., on May 4, 1961, and was
scheduled to arrive in New Orleans on May 17. The group was confronted
by violence in South Carolina, and, on May 14, when one bus stopped to
change a slashed tire, the vehicle was firebombed, and the Freedom Riders
were beaten. Unable to travel farther, the original riders were replaced by a
second group. As these riders were either arrested or beaten, more groups of
Freedom Riders took their place. Eventually, Attorney General Robert F.
Kennedy ordered the Interstate Commerce Commission to enforce bans on
segregation more strictly, an edict that took effect in September.

•Police arrested riders for trespassing, unlawful assembly, violating state
and local Jim Crow laws, and other alleged offenses, but often they first let
white mobs attack them without intervention. The Freedom Rides, and the
violent reactions they provoked, bolstered the credibility of the Civil
Rights Movement. They called national attention to the disregard for
federal law and the local violence used to enforce segregation in the South.

Multiple Select

How were the Freedom Riders successful?

• They proved bus rides are safe

• They made the nation aware of the South's disregard to federal laws

• They caused Robert F Kennedy to help enforce the ban on segregation

• They got the price for bus fares lowered

THE MARCH ON WASHINGTON

• As the Civil Rights Movement gained momentum in the

early 1960s, African American leaders felt that a push
was needed to build support for a national Civil Rights
Act. A. Philip Randolph and Bayard Rustin built an
alliance of civil rights, labor, and religious organizations
to come together under the banner of “jobs and
freedom.”

• The year marked the 100th anniversary of the

Emancipation Proclamation, helping to inspire members
of The NAACP and Southern Christian Leadership Conference put aside their differences and came
together for the march.

Multiple Choice

The March on Washington occurred on the 100th anniversary of what?

• Juneteenth

• Emancipation Proclamation

• Start of the Civil War

• Declaration of Independence

THE MARCH ON WASHINGTON

• The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom was held in

Washington, D.C. on Wednesday, August 28, 1963. Estimates of
the number of participants varied from 200,000 to 300,000 and
remains one of the largest political rallies for human rights in
United States history. The crowd gathered peacefully to protest
civil rights abuses and employment discrimination.

• At the march, Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his historic “I Have a

Dream” speech from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. He
eloquently stated, “I have a dream that one day this nation will rise
up and live out the true meaning of its creed: ‘We hold these truths
to be self-evident: that all men are created equal.’”

• The march is credited with helping to pass the Civil Rights Act of

1964.

Multiple Choice

What famous speech did Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. make during the March on Washington?

• I Have a Dream
• I Have a Vision
• I Have a Wish
• I Have a Nightmare