The Greensboro Sit-ins

Taking place in Greensboro, North Carolina, were a series of non-violent protests known as The Greensboro Sit-ins. The first, was conducted by young African American students at a segregated Woolworth's lunch counter in 1960. This sparked a sit-in movement that spread to college towns throughout the region. Even though many of the young protesters were arrested for trespassing, disorderly conduct, or disturbing the peace, their actions did not go unnoticed. These actions had an immediate and lasting impact which forced many establishments, including Woolworth's, to change their segregation policies.

The four young black men who staged the first sit-in in Greensboro were Ezell Blair Jr., David Richmond, Franklin McCain, and Joseph McNeil. They were all students from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical College. Soon they became known as the "Greensboro Four".
                        
On February 1, 1960, the four students sat down at the lunch counter at the Woolworth’s in downtown Greensboro, where the official policy was to refuse service to anyone but whites. Denied service, the four young men refused to give up their seats. The media had been alerted and arrived to cover the events on television. The “Greensboro Four” stayed put until the store closed, then returned the next day with more students from local colleges.

By February 5, about 300 students had joined the protest at Woolworth’s, halting the lunch counter and other local businesses. Due to the television coverage, this sparked a sit-in movement that spread quickly to college towns throughout the South and into the North. Young blacks and whites joined in various forms of peaceful protest against segregation in many establishments. By the end of March the movement had spread to 55 cities in 13 states. National media coverage of the sit-ins brought increasing attention to the struggle for civil rights for African Americans.

In response to the success of the sit-in movement, dining facilities across the South were being integrated by the summer of 1960. At the end of July, when many local college students were on summer vacation, the Greensboro Woolworth’s finally integrated its lunch counter. 

References

http://www.history.com/topics/black-history/the-greensboro-sit-in

http://americanhistory.si.edu/brown/history/6-legacy/freedom-struggle-2.html

https://www.theclio.com/web/entry?id=22270