Civil Rights Museum Opens to Commemorate Sit-in

On February 1, 2010, a group of civil rights leaders and visitors remembered a moment in history at the grand opening of an International Civil Rights Museum in Greensboro, North Carolina. Fifty years ago this very day, four young African-American freshmen from A&T University took a seat to make a stand. A stand for their civil rights. In 1960, Frank McCain, Ezell Blair, David Richmond and Joseph McNeil decided it was time for a change. They walked into a local F. W. Woolworth's store and sat down at a lunch counter designated for 'whites only.' Those were the days when segregation ruled. Blacks were allowed to stand at the counter, but not to sit. The store manager called the police to have them positioned around the store, but this was a peaceful protest and no one was arrested. According to Frank McCain, as they were sitting there, an elderly white woman put her hand on his shoulder and said, "Boys, I am so proud of you. You should have done this ten years ago."

Within the next few days, more students joined the four. By the fifth day, the protesters had grown to 300, not just students from A&T, but from Bennett College and Dudley High School as well. No one knew, at that moment, they were making history, not only for themselves, but for generations to come, not only in Greensboro but all across the Southern United States as this incident sparked other sit-ins.

Now, half a century later, the snow-covered ground may have deterred some. Still, at 8am as a crowd of hundreds made their way to the site of the former F. W. Woolworth's five-and-dime store, a ceremony began to commemorate the infamous 'sit-in' and officially welcome the new museum. Several well-known personalities who spoke were Rev. Jesse Jackson, Thomas E. Perez, emissary from the Obama administration, Senator Kay Hagan and NC Governor Beverly Perdue. Also in attendance were Greensboro Mayor Bill Knight, NC NAACP President William Barber, US Representatives Mel Watt, Brad Miller and Howard Coble and several state legislators.

When the red ribbon was cut and the crowd allowed inside, one of the first to tour the museum, Samantha Kittrell said, "They paved the way for a lot of us to have the civil rights we have today."

If you were to tour the new museum, you'd see the original lunch counter where the 'Greensboro Four' staged their protest. These men sat down so that others could stand up proudly.

Fifty years later, their legacy lives on.