Greensboro Sit-Ins Essay Example
"Being a Negro in America means trying to smile when you want to cry. It means trying to hold on to physical life amid psychological death. It means the pain of watching your children grow up with clouds of inferiority in their mental skies. It means having their legs off, and then being condemned for being a cripple." This is a quote that was said by Doctor Martin Luther King during the Civil Rights Era. The Greensboro Sit-ins showed that African Americans wanted to be treated with equality by Americans. On February 1st 1960, 4 black college students from A&T All Blacks College walked into a lunch counter that only served whites to protest. They ordered ordinary things to eat, but got much more than what they asked. All 4 stayed until the restaurant closed and came back the next day. Soon, some white students became annoyed and started to pick on the Protesters. They threw food and attacked them with weapons. Some even had to call police officers to bring dogs to kick them out of the lunch counter. Even after all the countless beatings, the Greensboro Four, they were soon named, never gave up. After a while, they were put in jail and when they were released, they continued protesting. The Greensboro Sit-ins also inspired many other states in the south too. Protesters began protesting at every public place. Even Martin Luther King joined the sit-ins. The sit-ins became really famous. After the sit-ins, an organization to help support the work that was being done in the south The SNCC, Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, had been created. This organization played a major role in the sit-ins and in freedom riders. This all proved how important freedom and respect was to the African Americans. The sit-ins were something that showed that you can stand up for what you believe in, without actually standing. The black students that participated had believed one thing, “"The day for the Negro man being a coward is over." –James