Sit-in Demonstration Site

Sit-in Demonstration Site. Stewart's Dry Goods. Stewart's Dry Goods, the largest and most prestigious department store in Louisville, was located at this site. In the 1950s, a trip to Stewart's was a special occasion, requiring a hat and gloves for ladies doing a day of shopping or eating lunch at its elegant Orchid Tea Room. But African Americans were excluded from this experience by policies that denied them the right to try on clothes, use the washrooms or eat in the restaurants., On February 9, 1961, young people from CORE (Congress of Racial Equality) and the NAACP Youth Council chose Stewart's as their first target for demonstrations. Their arrest during their first sit-in triggered a mass demonstration campaign that spread throughout the downtown, provoked the “Nothing New for Easter” boycott and lasted through the spring. Large numbers of protesters were arrested and subjected to acts of violence by store employees., By April 27, 1961, more protesters in Louisville had been incarcerated (685 total) during demonstrations than anywhere in the nation to that point. But, Stewart's earned its reputation, referred to by civil rights leaders as the “bulwark of segregation” in Louisville. It was not until the passage of the Public Accommodations Ordinance in 1963 that black customers were served in Stewart's restaurants. The store was purchased by L.S. Ayers in 1985 and later closed., “Ain't gonna let nobody turn me 'round, turn me 'round, , Ain't gonna let nobody turn me 'round, I'm gonna keep on walkin', , keep on talkin, marchin to freedom land”, Dedicated to the memory of Dr. J. Blaine Hudson (September 8,1949 - January 5, 2013).