Central City in Birmingham in Jefferson County, Alabama — The American South (East South Central)

Sitting in for Lunch

March Route to Retail

— Birmingham Civil Rights Heritage Trail —

Sitting in for Lunch Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Mark Hilton, December 5, 2021

1. Sitting in for Lunch Marker

Inscription. On February 1, 1960, four Black college students in Greensboro, North Carolina, sat down at Woolworth's "Whites Only" lunch counter. This started a national movement where Blacks used sit-ins as a direct, non-violent action to combat segregation throughout the South. Black students from local Miles College and Daniel Payne College soon followed with their own sit-ins at Birmingham's five largest department store lunch counters on March 31, 1960. The resulting police violence and threats against the non-violent student sit-in led to one of the first national news reports about racial tensions in the city.

Erected by the Birmingham Civil Rights Heritage Trail. (Marker Number B19.)

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • Civil Rights. In addition, it is included in the Birmingham Civil Rights Heritage Trail series list. A significant historical date for this entry is February 1, 1960.

Location. 33° 30.931′ N, 86° 48.487′ W. Marker is in Birmingham, Alabama, in Jefferson County. It is in Central City. It is on 19th Street North north of 2nd Avenue North, on the right when traveling

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north. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 1901 3rd Ave N, Birmingham AL 35203, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in the American South

and specifically in the Deep South.

Globally, it is in North America,

a Gulf of Mexico state,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

one of the Confederate States of America,

and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Former F.W. Woolworth Store Building (a few steps from this marker); Loveman's Department Store/McWane Science Center (a few steps from this marker); Music in the Movement (a few steps from this marker); S.H. Kress Store Building (within shouting distance of this marker); Integration Corner (within shouting distance of this marker); Shutting Down Downtown (within shouting distance of this marker); S. H. Kress Five-And-Ten Cent Store (within shouting distance of this marker); Let My Brother Go (within shouting distance of this

Photographed by Mark Hilton, December 5, 2021

2. Sitting in for Lunch Marker

marker). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Birmingham.

More about this marker. The 2nd "paired" marker is missing. You can see the broken brick in the sidewalk at the bottom of photo #3, where it was mounted. It went missing (removed) sometime after Feb. 2019.

Regarding Sitting in for Lunch. The Civil Rights Activist Committee “Home of the Foot Soldiers“ is the Information Center for the Birmingham Civil Rights Heritage Trail.

At bottom of photo, view where bolts were located for missing "paired" marker. image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Mark Hilton, December 5, 2021

3. At bottom of photo, view where bolts were located for missing "paired" marker.

Credits. This page was last revised on July 31, 2025. It was originally submitted on December 9, 2021, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama. This page has been viewed 1,416 times since then and 110 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on December 9, 2021, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama.

Editor’s want-list for this marker. Photo of paired "Sitting in for Lunch" marker (with text). • Can you help?