1. What impact do you think the Sit-ins had on the Civil Rights Movements?
"Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. heralded the Greensboro sit-ins as both pivotal and a catalyst among the critical acts in the civil rights movement. Between 1954 and 1960, protest activity had diminished until February 1, 1960 when the “Greensboro Four” sat down at the Woolworth lunch counter. America would be forever changed by this moment in history when these four courageous youth stepped forward, forsaking safety and security, in order that their voices might be heard. They believed in the power of the individual to make extraordinary change when standing on the side of justice and equality.
This single act re-ignited a passion across the South and beyond. Many other cities would witness the staging of sit-ins at segregated lunch counters and restaurants. They generated a virtual tidal wave that would lead to the Freedom Rides, re-focusing of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, the SNCC, and the NAACP’s youth activities. The Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act were passed by Congress over the next two years in response to growing public out-cry."
2. Do you think that, had the sit-ins not happened, the Rights movement would have taken longer?
"It is important to understand that there were a range of protest actions including mass marches drawing hundreds of people of all races, sit-down demonstrations where students moved into college administrative offices and would not leave until consideration was given to expanding minority enrollment, pray-ins in and around segregated churches – so I would not want you to think that the sit-ins were the only effective protest happening. However, many activists and historians believe that because more than sixty cities around America replicated our sit-ins within three months of February 1st we are viewed as the birthplace of the sit-in movement. The cause of civil rights was clearly advanced by the bravery of these students and this event is viewed as having been one of a number of contributing factors in the passage of both the Civil Rights Act and Voting Rights Act in 1964 and 65."
3. Why do you think so many people joined in with the sit-ins so quickly?
"I am taking the liberty to interpret your question in two ways. My first response addresses the fact that young people from both majority black and majority white colleges came together to participate in the sit-ins despite the fact that the Ku Klux Klan threatened them and showed up in full regalia. So many people showed up because the movement captured the energy and vision of a generation that felt it had the right to demand change. I also believe that my generation felt that this was indeed a new day – one that was born of a new kind of political environment as reflected in the U.S. Presidential election of John F. Kennedy. In addition, many were painfully aware that our fathers and brothers had fought and died in World War II and the Korean War for our country and freedom for others-- only to return to America and be treated like second class citizens."
4. Do you agree with the idea of a sit-in as a means of protest? Why or why not?
"I think the sit-ins were a tremendously effective tool because they impacted commerce. The reason that they ultimately worked is that little business happened when the stools were filled with students and the aisles were filled with people heckling the protestors."
5. What do you think would have happened had the group not come back every day?
"The incredible aspect of these sit-ins is that they ran from February 1st to July 25th. That consistency is one of the crucial elements that yielded success. The fact is that even as college students went home at the end of the semester – high school students picked up where they left off. There are also historical accounts of isolated sit-ins that happened as early as 1948. However, those actions usually lasted a matter of hours or a day or two. The Greensboro sit-ins are celebrated because they did not cave in to pressure. Their relentless spirit is the reason that they realized their goal."
6. When do you believe the Rights Movement truly began to have an effect?
"I believe when the rest of the world saw footage on television news where local law enforcement ordered the use of water hoses at full force on marchers across the South, tearing away skin from their faces and exposed arms and legs and scenes of uniformed police beating young and old protestors alike with wooden clubs – just to preserve the awful policy of segregation – most people were sickened and horrified. This led to many young white students and black students in the north deciding to participate in Freedom Rides coming south to register black people to vote – though it was against local laws. Many of these courageous young people lost their lives and the more the nation saw evidence of this injustice, the more people were outraged. Also with the passage of federal laws, and enforcement by the President, the Attorney General, Justice Department officials and litigation brought by the NAACP, the Legal Defense Fund, and Southern Poverty Law Center together with the activism of major civil rights organizations – America began to change.
7. Would you have joined the sit-ins? Why or why not?
I was in elementary school when the sit-ins occurred, and went to segregated schools through high school Black people were not allowed to stay in most of the hotels in the south, we could not sit in the same cars on a trains with white people anywhere in the South, and we were required to use “colored” bathrooms, water fountains, swimming pools, movies, and beaches. For example, all Girl Scout troops were segregated and our parents had to fight with regional officials to even allow us to use the state Girl Scout camp that was supposed to be for everyone. Things were just beginning to change as I went to college and I participated in many protest marches. I grew up in Charlotte, NC and was part of that generation that was put in the position of being “first black girl” who was allowed to attend many previously “all white” activities."
8. Why do you think the Sit-ins spread the way they did?
"I believe that the public felt that the sit-ins were a tactic that worked without violence! "