GREENSBORO, N.C. – Greensboro, North Carolina marked the 65th anniversary of the sit-ins at a Woolworth lunch counter that sparked a national civil rights movement.
On February 1, 1960, four North Carolina A&T State University students sat at the ‘whites-only’ lunch counter at F.W. Woolworth in Greensboro to protest racial segregation.
Similar sit-ins followed that year in Roanoke and Lynchburg.
The “A&T Four” were freshmen then.
The university celebrates their legacy each year with a breakfast, a wreath-laying ceremony, and the awarding of the human rights medal.
Students say the commemoration gives them renewed pride every year.
“Just the ability to recognize these heroes who walked the same land that we walk on, who learned in this some of the same buildings, who are inspired by the same institution that inspired me, who had the drive to make the world a better place and left it up to me and my fellow scholars to continue the work that they started all those years ago.”
Jayden Seay, NC A&T Senior
The medal honors community members dedicated to civil rights.