Sit-in movement


The sit-in movement, or student sit-in movement, was a wave of sit-ins that followed the Greensboro sit-ins on February 1, 1960 in North Carolina. The sit-in movement employed the tactic of nonviolent direct action and was a pivotal event during the Civil Rights Movement.
African-American college students attending Historically Black Colleges and Universities in the United States powered the sit-in movement across the country. Many students across the country 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 where 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 across the country as it saw bus and taxi companies hiring African-Americans in 1951–1952.
Morgan State College students saw the success of the sit-ins in Greensboro, North Carolina, and wanted to utilize this tactic in the department store restaurants. There were massive amounts of support from the community for the students’ efforts, but more importantly, white involvement and support grew in favor of desegregation of department store restaurants.

List of sit-ins

Precursors to sit-in movement


Start dateSit-inLocationNotes
August 21, 1939Alexandria LibraryAlexandria, Virginia
1943Chicago, Illinois
1953BaltimoreBaltimore, Maryland
1954DresdenDresden, Ontario, Canada
January 20, 1955Read's Drug StoreBaltimore, Maryland
June 23, 1957Royal Ice CreamDurham, North Carolina
July 19, 1958Dockim Drug StoreWichita, Kansas
August 19, 1958Katz Drug StoreOklahoma City, Oklahoma
1959MiamiMiami, Florida

Beginning with Greensboro sit-ins


Start date Sit-inUniversity or College studentsStateNotes
February 1GreensboroNorth Carolina A&T State UniversityNorth Carolina
February 8DurhamNorth Carolina CollegeNorth Carolina
February 8FayettevilleFayetteville State Teachers CollegeNorth Carolina
February 8Winston-SalemWinston-Salem Teachers CollegeNorth Carolina
February 9CharlotteJohnson C. Smith UniversityNorth Carolina
February 9ConcordBarber–Scotia CollegeNorth Carolina
February 9Elizabeth CityElizabeth City State Teachers CollegeNorth Carolina
February 9HendersonNorth Carolina
February 9High PointNorth Carolina
February 10RaleighSaint Augustine's CollegeNorth Carolina
February 10RaleighShaw UniversityNorth Carolina
February 11HamptonHampton UniversityVirginia
February 11PortsmouthVirginia
February 11High PointWilliam Penn High SchoolNorth Carolina
February 12Rock HillClinton Junior CollegeSouth Carolina
February 12NorfolkVirginia
February 13NashvilleFisk UniversityTennessee
February 13TallahasseeFlorida A&M UniversityFlorida
February 13TallahasseeFlorida State UniversityFlorida
February 14SumterMorris CollegeSouth Carolina
February 16SalisburyLivingstone CollegeNorth Carolina
February 17Chapel HillNorth Carolina
February 18CharlestonSouth Carolina
February 18ShelbyNorth Carolina
February 19ChattanoogaTennessee
February 20RichmondVirginia Union UniversityVirginia
February 22BaltimoreCoppin State Teachers CollegeMaryland
February 22FrankfortState Normal School for Colored PersonsKentucky
February 25MontgomeryAlabama State CollegeAlabama
February 25OrangeburgClaflin CollegeSouth Carolina
February 26LexingtonKentucky
February 26PetersburgVirginia State CollegeVirginia
February 26TuskegeeTuskegee InstituteAlabama
February 27TampaFlorida
March 2ColumbiaAllen UniversitySouth Carolina
March 2ColumbiaBenedict CollegeSouth Carolina
March 2Daytona BeachBethune–Cookman CollegeFlorida
March 2St. PetersburgFlorida
March 4HoustonTexas Southern UniversityTexas
March 4MiamiFlorida Memorial CollegeFlorida
March 7KnoxvilleKnoxville CollegeTennessee
March 8New OrleansDillard UniversityLouisiana
March 8New OrleansSouthern UniversityLouisiana
March 10Little RockArkansas Baptist CollegeArkansas
March 11AustinHuston–Tillotson CollegeTexas
March 11GalvestonTexas
March 12JacksonvilleEdward Waters CollegeFlorida
March 13San AntonioTexas
March 15AtlantaClark CollegeGeorgia
March 15AtlantaMorehouse CollegeGeorgia
March 15AtlantaMorris Brown CollegeGeorgia
March 15AtlantaSpelman CollegeGeorgia
March 15Corpus ChristiTexas
March 15St. AugustineFlorida
March 15StatesvilleNorth Carolina
March 16SavannahSavannah State CollegeGeorgia
March 17New BernNorth Carolina
March 19MemphisOwen Junior CollegeTennessee
March 19WilmingtonNorth Carolina
March 19ArlingtonVirginia
March 26LynchburgVirginia
March 28Baton RougeSouthern UniversityLouisiana
March 28New OrleansXavier UniversityLouisiana
March 29MarshallWiley CollegeTexas
March 31BirminghamWenonah State Technical InstituteAlabama
March 31BirminghamMiles CollegeAlabama
April 2DanvilleVirginia
April 4DarlingtonSouth Carolina
April 9AugustaPaine CollegeGeorgia
April 12NorfolkVirginia State College Virginia
April 17BiloxiMississippi
April 23StarkvilleMississippi
April 24CharlestonBurke High SchoolSouth Carolina
April 28DallasPaul Quinn CollegeTexas
June 17BaltimoreMaryland

Related post-1960 sit-ins


DateSit-inLocationNotes
January 31, 1961Rock HillSouth Carolina
1962Sewanee, Tennessee
May 28, 1963Woolworth'sJackson, Mississippi
March 7, 1964Audubon Regional LibraryClinton, Louisiana

Books

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