Greensboro — Woolworth Sit-In Code

Your journey begins at North Carolina A&T State University, founded in 1891 as an agricultural and mechanical college for African Americans. It was here, at 1601 E Market Street, that students Ezell Blair Jr., Franklin McCain, Joseph McNeil, and David Richmond, inspired by Martin Luther King's principles of non-violence, studied. Scott Hall, a historic building on campus, was the site of their crucial meetings before the first sit-in on February 1, 1960. These preparations laid the groundwork for the non-violent protests against segregation that would shake Greensboro.

Continue to the International Civil Rights Center & Museum, located at 134 South Elm Street. This building once housed the F.W. Woolworth store, the site of the first sit-in at 4:30 PM on February 1, 1960. Opened as a museum on February 1, 2010, fifty years after the event, it preserves the legacy of this struggle. The Woolworth lunch counter was desegregated on July 25, 1960, following five months of protests that cost the chain an estimated $200,000 (equivalent to $1.5M today). A section of the original counter was even donated to the Smithsonian in 1993.

The Dudley Building, another key site on the North Carolina A&T campus, named after Dudley High School, was a vital organizing center for the expansion of the sit-ins in February-March 1960. Up to 1400 participants coordinated their actions there, extending protests to other segregated stores like S.H. Kress. This building symbolizes the collective power and determination of Greensboro students in the face of injustice, transforming a local action into a national Civil Rights Movement.

Your route then takes you along South Elm Street, Greensboro's main thoroughfare, where the Woolworth at 132-134 South Elm Street once stood. This street was the scene of intense daily demonstrations: 60 participants on the third day, over 300 on the fourth day in February 1960. The Greensboro News & Record Building, the local newspaper on Elm Street, covered these sit-ins and helped amplify national coverage of the events, transforming a local protest into a symbol of the Civil Rights Movement.

Conclude your exploration at the February One Monument, on the campus of North Carolina A&T State University. Unveiled in 2002 for the 42nd anniversary of the February 1, 1960 sit-in, this monument honors the 'Greensboro Four': Ezell Blair Jr., Franklin McCain, Joseph McNeil, and David Richmond. It commemorates their courage and their impact on United States history, marking the end of your journey through the iconic sites of the struggle for equality in Greensboro, North Carolina.