The Greensboro Four

In 1960 four black students at North Carolina A&T decided they wanted to contribute to the growing Civil Rights Movement.  On February 1st they woke up, dressed in their nicest clothes and went down to Woolworths store which was a restaurant/goods store.  They bought a notebook and then sat down at the counter.  The waitress came over and told them they had to go and when they said they would like to be served she got the manager.  When he insisted they leave and they refused, he went to get a police officer.  The policeman walked around them as they sat at the counter and thumped his nightstick into his hand.  After awhile he decided that he really had no idea what to do and so he sat back to watch.  An old white woman walked up to the counter and put her hand on one of the student's arms and told him that she was proud of what he was doing and surprised it took them this long.  The store closed early that day.  The next day the boys were back, accompanied by several classmates and protesters.  Day after day the crowd grew, the manager got more uneasy and the media began to cover this phenomenon.  Several days into the sit-in a few white girls came in and sat at the end of their counter that was now solidly occupied by many black people.  When the waitress asked what they would like to order they replied that there were people here before them.  The waitress walked away realizing that they weren't there for the food.  After sitting there until closing time the white girls stood up to the jeers of spectators and protesters.  The black men that had been sitting at the counter formed a wordless circle around the white girls as they left the building.  This act was a key cog in the Civil Rights Movement as it demonstrated the beginning of a breakdown.