Sit-in is a form of peaceful protest. Sit-ins came into wide use during the civil rights movement of the United States in the 1950’s and 1960’s. Sit-ins are organized to protest such matters as racial discrimination and government policies that a group considers unfair. Racial discrimination is the unequal treatment of people based on race. During a sit-in, a group of people enter a public place and remain seated for a long period. Sit-in protesters usually refuse to leave until their grievances are addressed or they are arrested or removed by force.
Many people consider a sit-in staged in Wichita , Kansas, on July 19, 1958, to be the first successful lunch-counter sit-in of the U.S. civil rights movement. In July, members of a local branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) Youth Council sat at a segregated lunch counter in a Wichita drug store. In early August, the drugstore became integrated. On August 19, the Youth Council of the NAACP protested segregated lunch counters at a chain of drug stores in Oklahoma City . African American patrons sat on stools in the “whites only” section of the stores. They refused to leave when they were not served. The stores soon became integrated. Over several years, the NAACP used this method to bring about the integration of all of Oklahoma City’s eating establishments.
On Feb. 1, 1960, four African American college students sat at a segregated lunch counter at an F. W. Woolworth Company store in Greensboro, North Carolina. They were refused service, but they stayed and studied until the store closed. In the following days, more African American protesters, as well as white supporters, joined the campaign. More than 1,000 people participated in the sit-ins. The Greensboro protests gained national attention. College students throughout the South began similar sit-ins. By the end of February, sit-in campaigns were taking place in more than 30 cities across nine Southern states. Many of the protesters were arrested, drawing further attention to the movement. The sit-ins contributed to Congress passing the Civil Rights Act of 1964 . This law banned the segregation of public facilities.
Scholars trace the origin of the sit-in to the Indian nationalist leader Mohandas K. Gandhi . Gandhi used this method in the 1900’s to protest British treatment of Indians. Sit-ins continue to be used as a form of protest throughout the world.
