Greensboro, February 1 (RHC)-- Saturday marks the 60th anniversary of the Greensboro Four sit-in protest at the lunch counter at Woolworth’s in downtown Greensboro, North Carolina.

On February 1, 1960, four freshmen students at North Carolina’s A&T State University -- Ezell Blair Jr., Franklin McCain, Joseph McNeil and David Richmond -- refused to leave the whites-only lunch counter after being denied service.  Their action inspired a nationwide wave of sit-ins aimed at desegregating businesses and public spaces. 

Within weeks of their action, sit-in protests spread to over 250 cities and towns across the United States, sparking a nationwide movement that saw more than 400 protests by the end of the year.