Lunch at the 5 and 10 by Miles Wolff

¶ … Lunch at the 5 & 10 the Greensboro Sit-Ins: A Contemporary History by Miles Wolff. Specifically, it will discuss the positive and negative role of white Americans during the Greensboro sit-ins. Why did some support change and others resist it? Additionally, address how the movement changed the African-American community in Greensboro. What attitudes regarding integration existed in Greensboro's African-American community preceding the sit-ins? In conclusion, address the state of civil rights and equality in America today. What valuable lessons can we learn from the story of the Greensboro sit-ins?

The Greensboro sit-ins occurred during a time of strife and turbulence in the South. Black Americans were attempting to gain rights long denied them, and white Americans were not sure exactly what to do with Negroes who suddenly refused to follow the established rules. Some of the whites supported their efforts, because they felt all people should be equal. Some of them did not, because they felt Negroes were inferior and should stay that way. White shop owner Ralph Johns was instrumental in the sit-in; he provided support and funds for the first four young men who started the sit-in. The four young men participating in the sit-in were Ezell Blair, Jr., Franklin McCain, Joseph McNeil, and David Richmond. They were all eighteen years old, and freshmen at North Carolina Agricultural & Technical College (a & T). Initially, the white community was not aware of the sit-ins at the Woolworth's, and when they became aware of it, a few white students helped the Blacks, while another group gathered to harass the Black students, and the white group continued to grow throughout the sit-ins. Wolff notes, "Several whites, both men and women, were escorted from the store for using abusive language. Many things were said to the Negro students, and one observer remembers, 'They would take things nobody would take'" (Wolff 45). As news of the sit-ins spread, so did sit-ins at lunch counters in other cities. The sit-ins would be called a "revolution," and thousands of young Black Americans would take part across the South, urging stores to segregate their lunch counters, and showing the country how roughly Blacks were still treated in the South.

Many whites opposed the sit-ins, and Negro equality because of fear and power. Whites were used to being in charge in the South, and they did not want to give up their authority over the subservient Negroes. They felt they were better because their skin was white, and that segregation made sense, the races should not mix. Those who supported the students, like Ralph Johns and Ed Zane, recognized the injustice of segregation, and felt it was not only unfair, it was "incompatible wit the nation system of government" (Wolff 90). Unfortunately, Woolworth's would not make waves, and initially sided with the whites, refusing to integrate their lunch counters because other restaurants in the area would not follow suit.

The sit-ins helped the Black Americans in Greensboro unite, and helped them mobilize to create change. They also showed the Blacks that many whites in the community supported them, and supported change. However, they also illustrated the great differences in ideals in the community. White picketers continued to harass the students with signs such as "Don't want you, Don't need you, Go home Nigger" (Wolff 128). As the sit-ins progressed, they showed how united the Black community could be, and how important change was to them. The sit-ins also showed a different side of the Negro problem to many whites who simply had not considered it before. Wolff notes, "Many white ministers and others who had not bothered to think about the situation before were giving public support to the students and offering their help finding a solution. It was far from a unanimous group, but it was a beginning" (Wolff 153). The community changed, because the sit-ins untied most of the Black community, and gave the white community a stronger view of just how dissatisfied the Blacks really were. Greensboro changed, and so did the South. The sit-ins even changed a & T, because the administration supported the students, even in the face of the threat of losing state sponsored funding for the school. As author Wolff notes, "Both individuals and the community changed, but to many the biggest changes was among the faculty and administration at a & T" (Wolff 163). Amazingly, some of Greensboro's Black community did not support integration, but for the most part, the Black community united behind the students and supported them, and the white community learned that the Blacks they thought were complacent really were not.