This February marks the 60th anniversary of the beginning of sit-in campaigns during the Civil Rights Movement. On February 1st, 1960, four students staged a sit-in at a Woolworth’s in Greensboro, North Carolina. The idea to stage sit-ins spread, led by student activists across the country.
Interested in learning more? The Library has a number of books about the history of nonviolent protest in the United states, or check out the ebook Civil Rights Sit-Ins, for a comprehensive history of the sit-in movement.
Prefer a visual history? John Lewis (then a student organizer, now a congressman) describes his experience as a leader of the Nashville Sit-Ins in the first book of his award-winning graphic novel series March.