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NASHVILLE SIT-INS

    America is a country of revolution. Our government was formed after the thirteen colonies revolted from British oppression. This American spirit has changed forms, but has never died. When any people are oppressed, they find ways to change their situation. During the mid-nineteen fifties, blacks  though freed from slavery for nearly one hundred years were still fighting for equal rights.  They devised a way to protest nonviolently. At most lunch counters, blacks could not be served as respectable customers. The blacks decided to stage sit-ins, which were peaceful attempts to gain the right to be served as an ordinary customer. Through these sit-ins they hoped to achieve equality through minimum conflict protests.

    In the twentieth century black oppression has been fueled by years of law making bigots. Even after slavery was outlawed the discrimination continued. An example of this is the Plessy vs. Ferguson court case. This made segregation legal, but only if it was equal ("Historic.") Of course, this was not always the case. The designated black facilities were nowhere near as maintained as the white ones. Conflict also arose from political celebrities such as Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks. Parks helped begin the bus boycott in Montgomery, Alabama by refusing to get out of her seat ("Historic.") These events made way for the first televised sit-in on February 1, 1960 ("Nashville.")

    The first televised protest was put together by Diane Nash and James M. Lawson ("Nashville.") These two activists trained Joseph McNeil, Franklin McCain, David Richmond, and Ezell Blair Jr. to peacefully protest at a F.W. Woolworth Department store ("Sit-ins.") This fateful protest inspired many colleges to begin planning protests including Fisk University, Tennessee A and I State University, Meharry Medical college, and American Baptist Theological Seminary ("Nashville.") Nash and Lawson contacted many black leaders on the "Do’s" and "Don’t’s" of sit-ins, and how to deal with violence ("Nashville.") It was only a matter of time before their plans came to action.

    In Nashville plans were awaiting execution, and the students training was about to be tested in a real life situation. One day the students met at the arcade on Fifth Avenue and proceeded to seat themselves at Kress’s, Woolworth’s, and Mclellan’s department stores ("Nashville.") They were basically ignored, until black activists were attacked by a group of white teenagers. The black students took the blame. The issue continued to gain notice. The protests expanded to bus stations and even more department stores. One judge literally turned his back on a lawyer who was in the defense of a black offender ("Historic.")

    With all of these events leading to exponential rates of conflict, some issues needed to be resolved. A 3,000 person silent march was organized on the capitol ("Sit-ins.") When Diane Nash asked Mayor West what he thought of the conflict, he told the people the laws were unjust ("Nashville.") Within the following weeks the stores opened their counters to serve all races. Through perseverance, the method that the activists used solved the conflict nonviolently.

VETERANS' DAY PROJECT

November 10, 2000

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