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Greensboro Lunch Counter

National Museum of American History

Object Details

F. W. Woolworth Co.
Description
On February 1, 1960, four African American college students—Ezell A. Blair, Jr. (now Jibreel Khazan), Franklin E. McCain, Joseph A. McNeil, and David L. Richmond—sat down at this "whites only" lunch counter at the Woolworth's store in Greensboro, North Carolina, and politely asked for service. Their request was refused, and when asked to leave, the students remained in their seats in protest.
For the six months that followed, hundreds of students, civil rights organizations, churches, and members of the community joined the protest and boycotted the store. Their commitment ultimately led to the desegregation of the F.W. Woolworth lunch counter on July 25, 1960. Their peaceful sit-down was a watershed event in the struggle for civil rights and helped ignite a youth-led movement to challenge racial inequality throughout the South.
ID Number
1994.0156.01
catalog number
1994.0156.01
accession number
1994.0156
Object Name
stool
Physical Description
silver (overall color)
salmon (overall color)
Measurements
average spatial: 38 in x 15 in x 15 in; 96.52 cm x 38.1 cm x 38.1 cm
used
United States: North Carolina, Greensboro
Related Publication
Kendrick, Kathleen M. and Peter C. Liebhold. Smithsonian Treasures of American History
National Museum of American History. Treasures of American History online exhibition
Related Web Publication
http://americanhistory.si.edu/treasures
See more items in
Political History: Political History, General History Collection
Food
Government, Politics, and Reform
National Treasures exhibit
Exhibition
Greensboro Lunch Counter
Exhibition Location
National Museum of American History
National Museum of American History
used
Civil Rights Movement
Subject
African American
related event
Greensboro Sit-in
Record ID
nmah_1159229
Metadata Usage (text)
CC0
GUID (Link to Original Record)
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng49ca746a9-ed09-704b-e053-15f76fa0b4fa
There are restrictions for re-using this image. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page .
International media Interoperability Framework
IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and media viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. Visit the IIIF page to learn more.
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