Lunch Counter Sit-In

After learning about the training involved in non-violent protests, visitors are invited to participate in a lunch counter sit-in simulation and place themselves in the shoes of non-violent protestors in 1960.

In cities such as Greensboro and Nashville, college students staged non-violent “sit-ins,” asking to be served at whites-only lunch counters to protest segregation. Workshop leaders prepared demonstrators for what they would endure by acting out the scenes ahead of time and creating plans in the case of arrest or harm.

The lunch counter display where you close your eyes and listen to the threats poured on demonstrators was very emotional.

– Museum Visitor, TripAdvisor Review

We both have studied history for years, but we frequently would turn to the other and say, ‘I didn’t know that.’

– Museum Visitor, TripAdvisor Review

The struggle to end segregation is explained in film, sound, photos and explanatory panels. Sobering to think that this was happening in the ’60s.

– Museum Visitor, TripAdvisor Review