This transcript of a 1978 interview conducted by William Chafe with Joseph McNeil primarily documents McNeil's participation in the 1960 Woolworth's sit-ins in Greensboro, North Carolina. Topics include his surprise at not being arrested the first day of the sit-ins; turning to other local colleges for support; the participation of female students; financial support from the black community; the role of Edward Zane; waiting for the community response; assumption the sit-ins would end when students left in the summer; arrests in April; having no one leader; and avoiding becoming "personalities" in the movement. McNeil also denies both the influence of Gandhi and his total committment to nonviolence, but briefly describes his childhood; the influence of teachers in black high schools; participating in a boycott of Pepsi-Cola during high school; an experience at a concert motivating him to become more involved in nonviolent civil rights protest in Greensboro; and the support of Ralph Johns. Of the 1963 demonstrations, McNeil mentions the importance of the economic boycott and filling the jails as a tactical method.
