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Greensboro Daily News, Saturday, May 29, 1971 Racial Barriers Fall BY JOE KNOX Paily News Staff Writer Late in the afternoon of Feb. I 11, 1960, four young Negroes, all [freshmen at A&T College I walked into Woolworth's variety store in downtown Greensboro I and took seats at the lunch I counter. By this simple act they I inspired a movement that was to sweep the country almost | [overnight and mark the begin- Ining of the end of racial dis-l crimination in private business | I catering to the public. Greensboro has ever s i n c eI Ibeen known as the birthplace of I jthe sit-in, the city where it all | Ibegan. When the boys first entered I I the store, they separated and I went to various counters where [they bought small, inexpensive litems. Then they went to the] lunch counter where they took | I seats and waited to be served. The waitress shook her head I I when they tried to order soft drinks. The students held up their sales tickets and argued I that if their money was good at I other counters in the store, then I I it should also be good at the] I lunch counter. The waitress continued to I I shake her head. Her meaning was clear. Only white people J could buy things at this particu- |lar counter. The students understood welll I enough. But they continued to I I sit there until the store closed about one hour later, and then | they returned to the A&T, campus. STUDENTS RETURN That was the beginning. When I I the youths returned to the store | the next afternoon to continue I the sit-in, they were joined by, | (other students from A&T. Some 1 went to the next block to sit at the lunch counter in the Kress I variety store. By the following day, sit-ins I were being staged in cities all over the South. In Greensboro the movement gained momentum and Negro demonstrations I in the midtown area became' [/almost daily newsmakers. The four young students who [originated the idea practically I dropped from sight as other people came forward to lead the | sit-ins and demonstrations to a conclusion about five months later When both variety stores dropped racial bars at their lunch counters. The four were Ezell Blair Jr. of New Bedford, Mass.; David I I Richmond of Greensboro; Jo- I seph McNeil of Wilmington; and I Franklin MoCain of Charlotte. In a sense, what they started | was dress rehearsal for a later I all-out bid to open every place. , of public accommodation in the | city to blacks. Street demonstrations resumed I late in 1962 following endless I rounds of talk. White merchants I stood their ground firmly, insist- Iing they would invite economic' ruin if they let down racial bars. Negro leaders and activist stu-1 dents at A&T and Bennett College faced up to a hard fact of | life: Nobody was going to freely I give them anything. If doors I were to be opened, those doors | would have to be forced open. DEMONSTRATIONS START Street demonstrations invblv- I mg hundreds of students and I townspeople continued on a fairly sustained basis through- [ out the winter and spring of 1963, and brought Greensboro a na-1 tional reputation as a—citv of | I chronic racial unrest. (Jj^?) The reputation was not entirely I J deserved, because for all of the people who demonstrated, and | the numbers of potentially explosive situations to arise, few I persons were arrested on charges arising from violence. (Through it all, no one was hurt. While police made hundreds of I arrests, practically all of them Jon charges of trespassing or (obstructing traffic, a spirit of good humor prevailed. Students I invited arrest as a mark of protest and a badge of honor. There were hotheads on both sides, black and white, but none | of them prevailed for long. The demonstrations were! 1 staged by the local chapter of the Congress for Racial Equali- j ty, completely dominated by A&T students. The CORE presi- j dent was William Thomas, an I A&T student. Jesse Jackson, then president J of the A&T student body, was a j principal spokesman for the I campus and led many of the I demonstrations into midtown. — While these and other young I people were highly visible and vocal, there were many older Greensboro citizens who worked | quietly behind the scenes to I keep the city from exploding in I violence and restore a calm in I | w h i c h reasonable discussions | could take place. Among these were City Councilman Jimmie I. Barber, thenl dean of men at A&T; Mayor! Jack Elam, then city attorney; [ |the late David Schenck, mayor! of Greensboro during the peak! I of demonstrations; Dr. George I Evans, medical doctor who I served as chairman of the may-1 of*s Advisory Committee "on'Hu-1 I man Relations. There was also Dr. George | I Simkins Jr., dentist, and president of the local chapter of the j National Association for the I Advancement of Colored People; the Rev. Cecil Bishop, pastor of | Trinity AME Zion Church; and the Rev. Otis L. Hairston, pastor | of Shiloh Baptist Church. W. O. Conrad, Western Elec-1 trie executive, served as first] | chairman of the Greensboro Hu-| man Relations Commission; aiij ; aivr miptr [another group, with a simijpir I function was headed by banker | I Bland Worley. FARMER SPEAKS James Farmer, then national I I director of CORE, came to town | j several times to advise the Ne- | gro community on strategy and | ] tactics. Numbers of other "outsiders" also appeared; but their I local influence proved to be | I slight. While talk continued, so did I I the demonstrations. They 1 reached a climax in the first week of June as the spring 1 semester at the coUgggscame to j I a close. £^C*?fe3X'' On Tuesday, June a, i)40 stu-1 I dents and townspeople walked I silently through midtown. Pick-1 ets were spotted in front of the | |S&W and Mayfair cafeterias. The next day, about 5001 I marched through town, crossing j ] streets in such a way as to tie I j up traffic. The march continued (for 90 minutes, and then the | demonstrators sat down in the street in front of City Hall. They I were warned by Police Capt. W. I j H. Jackson to move away with-1 I in 10 minutes or be arrested. The following morning, June I 16, Jesse Jackson was arrested on a charge of inciting to riot as the leader of the sit-down at City Hall. M u n i c i p a 1 offices [ I were picketed during the day. That night, u n c o u n te hundreds poured into Jefferson Square and staged a massive sit-down, completely blocking traffic. Police arrested 284,. put them in buses and took them to War Memorial Coliseum where they were booked on cijaxges of obstructing traffic. (7u^^\ 1,800 ARRESTm—^ From early winter of 1962 through that date (June 6, 1963) more than 1,800 arrests had been made by Greensboro police in connection with street demonstrations and sit-ins. The pro- tests then were specifically aimed at public accommoda- t i o n s, especially restaurants, theaters and motels, all relatively easy and obvious targets. The demonstration in Jefferson Square was the last one of the series. The next day, Mayor Schenck made an impassioned appeal for peace in the city. He had suffered much criticism for not exercising stronger leadership during the crisis; but no mayor of any southern city spoke more pointedly to the issues than did David Schenck on this day. ". . . . To those establishments whose policy of segregated services are being protested, let me say this: We recognize the right under law of the property owner or business proprietor to use his property and conduct his business in any fashion he- chooses so long as public safety and morals are not violated. "But how far must your city government and your fellow businessmen go to protect that right? Must the business of downtown Greensboro be dis-' rupted, must the city be brought to a point of serious explosion, must extra policeman, sheriffs, highway patrolmen and even the National Guard be kept on alert to enforce your private business decision? "I say to you who own and operate places of public accommodation in the city, the hotell motels and restaurants, that now is the time to throw aside the shackles of past custom. "Selection of customers by race is outdated, morally unjust and not an keeping wltto either, democratic or Christian philosdf Phy. ,."
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Full text | Greensboro Daily News, Saturday, May 29, 1971 Racial Barriers Fall BY JOE KNOX Paily News Staff Writer Late in the afternoon of Feb. I 11, 1960, four young Negroes, all [freshmen at A&T College I walked into Woolworth's variety store in downtown Greensboro I and took seats at the lunch I counter. By this simple act they I inspired a movement that was to sweep the country almost | [overnight and mark the begin- Ining of the end of racial dis-l crimination in private business | I catering to the public. Greensboro has ever s i n c eI Ibeen known as the birthplace of I jthe sit-in, the city where it all | Ibegan. When the boys first entered I I the store, they separated and I went to various counters where [they bought small, inexpensive litems. Then they went to the] lunch counter where they took | I seats and waited to be served. The waitress shook her head I I when they tried to order soft drinks. The students held up their sales tickets and argued I that if their money was good at I other counters in the store, then I I it should also be good at the] I lunch counter. The waitress continued to I I shake her head. Her meaning was clear. Only white people J could buy things at this particu- |lar counter. The students understood welll I enough. But they continued to I I sit there until the store closed about one hour later, and then | they returned to the A&T, campus. STUDENTS RETURN That was the beginning. When I I the youths returned to the store | the next afternoon to continue I the sit-in, they were joined by, | (other students from A&T. Some 1 went to the next block to sit at the lunch counter in the Kress I variety store. By the following day, sit-ins I were being staged in cities all over the South. In Greensboro the movement gained momentum and Negro demonstrations I in the midtown area became' [/almost daily newsmakers. The four young students who [originated the idea practically I dropped from sight as other people came forward to lead the | sit-ins and demonstrations to a conclusion about five months later When both variety stores dropped racial bars at their lunch counters. The four were Ezell Blair Jr. of New Bedford, Mass.; David I I Richmond of Greensboro; Jo- I seph McNeil of Wilmington; and I Franklin MoCain of Charlotte. In a sense, what they started | was dress rehearsal for a later I all-out bid to open every place. , of public accommodation in the | city to blacks. Street demonstrations resumed I late in 1962 following endless I rounds of talk. White merchants I stood their ground firmly, insist- Iing they would invite economic' ruin if they let down racial bars. Negro leaders and activist stu-1 dents at A&T and Bennett College faced up to a hard fact of | life: Nobody was going to freely I give them anything. If doors I were to be opened, those doors | would have to be forced open. DEMONSTRATIONS START Street demonstrations invblv- I mg hundreds of students and I townspeople continued on a fairly sustained basis through- [ out the winter and spring of 1963, and brought Greensboro a na-1 tional reputation as a—citv of | I chronic racial unrest. (Jj^?) The reputation was not entirely I J deserved, because for all of the people who demonstrated, and | the numbers of potentially explosive situations to arise, few I persons were arrested on charges arising from violence. (Through it all, no one was hurt. While police made hundreds of I arrests, practically all of them Jon charges of trespassing or (obstructing traffic, a spirit of good humor prevailed. Students I invited arrest as a mark of protest and a badge of honor. There were hotheads on both sides, black and white, but none | of them prevailed for long. The demonstrations were! 1 staged by the local chapter of the Congress for Racial Equali- j ty, completely dominated by A&T students. The CORE presi- j dent was William Thomas, an I A&T student. Jesse Jackson, then president J of the A&T student body, was a j principal spokesman for the I campus and led many of the I demonstrations into midtown. — While these and other young I people were highly visible and vocal, there were many older Greensboro citizens who worked | quietly behind the scenes to I keep the city from exploding in I violence and restore a calm in I | w h i c h reasonable discussions | could take place. Among these were City Councilman Jimmie I. Barber, thenl dean of men at A&T; Mayor! Jack Elam, then city attorney; [ |the late David Schenck, mayor! of Greensboro during the peak! I of demonstrations; Dr. George I Evans, medical doctor who I served as chairman of the may-1 of*s Advisory Committee "on'Hu-1 I man Relations. There was also Dr. George | I Simkins Jr., dentist, and president of the local chapter of the j National Association for the I Advancement of Colored People; the Rev. Cecil Bishop, pastor of | Trinity AME Zion Church; and the Rev. Otis L. Hairston, pastor | of Shiloh Baptist Church. W. O. Conrad, Western Elec-1 trie executive, served as first] | chairman of the Greensboro Hu-| man Relations Commission; aiij ; aivr miptr [another group, with a simijpir I function was headed by banker | I Bland Worley. FARMER SPEAKS James Farmer, then national I I director of CORE, came to town | j several times to advise the Ne- | gro community on strategy and | ] tactics. Numbers of other "outsiders" also appeared; but their I local influence proved to be | I slight. While talk continued, so did I I the demonstrations. They 1 reached a climax in the first week of June as the spring 1 semester at the coUgggscame to j I a close. £^C*?fe3X'' On Tuesday, June a, i)40 stu-1 I dents and townspeople walked I silently through midtown. Pick-1 ets were spotted in front of the | |S&W and Mayfair cafeterias. The next day, about 5001 I marched through town, crossing j ] streets in such a way as to tie I j up traffic. The march continued (for 90 minutes, and then the | demonstrators sat down in the street in front of City Hall. They I were warned by Police Capt. W. I j H. Jackson to move away with-1 I in 10 minutes or be arrested. The following morning, June I 16, Jesse Jackson was arrested on a charge of inciting to riot as the leader of the sit-down at City Hall. M u n i c i p a 1 offices [ I were picketed during the day. That night, u n c o u n te hundreds poured into Jefferson Square and staged a massive sit-down, completely blocking traffic. Police arrested 284,. put them in buses and took them to War Memorial Coliseum where they were booked on cijaxges of obstructing traffic. (7u^^\ 1,800 ARRESTm—^ From early winter of 1962 through that date (June 6, 1963) more than 1,800 arrests had been made by Greensboro police in connection with street demonstrations and sit-ins. The pro- tests then were specifically aimed at public accommoda- t i o n s, especially restaurants, theaters and motels, all relatively easy and obvious targets. The demonstration in Jefferson Square was the last one of the series. The next day, Mayor Schenck made an impassioned appeal for peace in the city. He had suffered much criticism for not exercising stronger leadership during the crisis; but no mayor of any southern city spoke more pointedly to the issues than did David Schenck on this day. ". . . . To those establishments whose policy of segregated services are being protested, let me say this: We recognize the right under law of the property owner or business proprietor to use his property and conduct his business in any fashion he- chooses so long as public safety and morals are not violated. "But how far must your city government and your fellow businessmen go to protect that right? Must the business of downtown Greensboro be dis-' rupted, must the city be brought to a point of serious explosion, must extra policeman, sheriffs, highway patrolmen and even the National Guard be kept on alert to enforce your private business decision? "I say to you who own and operate places of public accommodation in the city, the hotell motels and restaurants, that now is the time to throw aside the shackles of past custom. "Selection of customers by race is outdated, morally unjust and not an keeping wltto either, democratic or Christian philosdf Phy. ,." |