Rock Hill's Sit-in Movement

Rock Hill's Sit-in Movement. . During the 1960s, racial segregation was commonplace. Society enforced separation between white and Black races by law. As an extension, Black individuals were regarded as second-class citizens, an attitude that infiltrated nearly all aspects of daily life., On any given day, lunch counters throughout the country bustled serving quick, diner-style food to hungry customers, with one notable rule: whites only. As the fight for equal rights gained momentum lunch counters became an important center point in the national conversation., In Greensboro, North Carolina on February 1, 1960, a new movement was born , the sit-in. Four North Carolina A&T students sat at the whites-only Woolworth's lunch counter to protest the restaurant's segregation practices. The student-led sit-in movement was sparked, and Rock Hill took notice., Spurred by local momentum, students at Friendship Junior College formed The Friendly Student Civic Committee, with Rev. Ivory as an advisor. Flanked by more than 100 students from both Friendship and Clinton Junior College, the group took to Main Street on February 12th, 1960, picketing and staging sit-ins at several local lunch counters., Although more than 100 cities had moved to desegregate the lunch counter, Rock Hill stubbornly turned a deaf ear to cries for change. It was time for something more. Rev. Ivory called on James McCain of the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) to partner with Rock Hill NAACP in the sit-in movement creating a new tactic: Jail, No Bail., Letters courtesy of the Cecil A. Ivory family and Winthrop University's Louise Pettus Archives