NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) — The Greensboro sit-ins were a pivotal moment for non-violent civil rights protests in the early 1960s. This movement spread throughout the country, operating on a simple concept: Young Black college students would sit down at “whites-only” lunch counters for a simple bite to eat. Though it started in North Carolina, the spread of this movement has roots in Norfolk.
This protest in North Carolina made headlines. Often called the Greensboro Four, those young college students sat at the Woolworth lunch counter and were refused service. They stayed in their seats for hours, all the way to closing time. The late Ella Jo Baker, a Norfolk native, was inspired by this protest. She wanted to see it it expand across the nation, according to Norfolk State University Endowed Professor of Virginia Black History and Culture Dr. Cassandra Newby-Alexander.
“To utilize their energy, to protest,” Newby-Alexander said. “To plan something every single week so that the news cycle would not forget.”…