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WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (WGHP) -
The Greensboro Four's idea of a sit-in captured the attention of students across the southeast, but it was in Winston-Salem where sit-ins were successful in bringing the state's first integrated lunch counters.
Vic Johnson says he never expected people to still remember what he and students from Winston-Salem Satate and Wake Forest University did in Winston-Salem.
"I really didn't think about the significance at all," said Johnson. "You just couldn't believe this being an American city that was depriving people of something as simple as eating at a counter with a white person... or going to the restroom," said Johnson.
Johnson's classmate, Carl Matthews, began the Winston-Salem sit-ins on February 8, 1960, a week after the Greensboro sit-ins.
"We went to school and heard on the news that Carl protested and we got together to join him," said Johnson.
For several days, Vic and his friends followed Matthews to several lunch counters in Winston-Salem.
"We just went around and tried to buy something at the white counters. You know, drink some white water... they had white fountains and white bathrooms," said Johnson.
After several days of protest, Wake Forest student Bill Stevens and his friends joined the protest.
"It's people standing up and sitting down and speaking out that enable that change to take place," said Stevens.
The day Stevens joined, several other students also came out to sit and the counters in Winston-Salem. That day, 22 protestors were arrested.
"We were arrested, taken to the courthouse, fingerprinted, put in jail," said Stevens. The arrest sparked a controversy and forced the Mayor to demand the charges against the protesters be dropped.
The students were found guilty of trespassing, but the judgment was suspended so the students would not serve time. On May 23, 1960, city leaders and store owners came to an agreement to integrate lunch counters. This integration is seen as the first sit-in victory.
"It was successful in the sense of the immediate goal being achieved, but I think our success is far broader than that... in the sense of what has happened over the past 50 years," said Stevens.
Vic Johnson says he never expected people to still remember what he and students from Winston-Salem Satate and Wake Forest University did in Winston-Salem.
"I really didn't think about the significance at all," said Johnson. "You just couldn't believe this being an American city that was depriving people of something as simple as eating at a counter with a white person... or going to the restroom," said Johnson.
Johnson's classmate, Carl Matthews, began the Winston-Salem sit-ins on February 8, 1960, a week after the Greensboro sit-ins.
"We went to school and heard on the news that Carl protested and we got together to join him," said Johnson.
For several days, Vic and his friends followed Matthews to several lunch counters in Winston-Salem.
"We just went around and tried to buy something at the white counters. You know, drink some white water... they had white fountains and white bathrooms," said Johnson.
After several days of protest, Wake Forest student Bill Stevens and his friends joined the protest.
"It's people standing up and sitting down and speaking out that enable that change to take place," said Stevens.
The day Stevens joined, several other students also came out to sit and the counters in Winston-Salem. That day, 22 protestors were arrested.
"We were arrested, taken to the courthouse, fingerprinted, put in jail," said Stevens. The arrest sparked a controversy and forced the Mayor to demand the charges against the protesters be dropped.
The students were found guilty of trespassing, but the judgment was suspended so the students would not serve time. On May 23, 1960, city leaders and store owners came to an agreement to integrate lunch counters. This integration is seen as the first sit-in victory.
"It was successful in the sense of the immediate goal being achieved, but I think our success is far broader than that... in the sense of what has happened over the past 50 years," said Stevens.
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