Lessons in Civil Rights

East Paulding High School's student leadership team, LEAD, got a lesson in civil rights this week.

Principal Kim Fraker took the students to the National Center for Civil and Human Rights in Atlanta. The group viewed and experienced exhibits on the American Civil Rights Movement and the Global Human Rights Movement.

LEAD team at the National Center for Civil and Human Rights

One of the exhibits is a replica of the Woolworth's Lunch Counter in Greensboro, North Carolina where peaceful protests took place.

LEAD team members take the place of a peaceful protestor at a replica of the lunch counter

On February 1, 1960, four African American college students sat down at the lunch counter inside a Woolworth's in Greensboro, North Carolina, and politely asked for service. Their request was refused and they were asked to leave. The group remained in their seats. Their passive resistance and peaceful sit-down demand helped ignite a youth-led movement to challenge racial inequality throughout the South.

 

Ezell A. Blair, Jr. (now Jibreel Khazan), Franklin E. McCain, Joseph A. McNeil, and David L. Richmond leave the Woolworth store after the first sit-in on February 1, 1960.
Courtesy: Greensboro News and Record

On the second day of the Greensboro sit-in, Joseph A. McNeil and Franklin E. McCain are joined by William Smith and Clarence Henderson at the Woolworth lunch counter in Greensboro, North Carolina.
Courtesy: Greensboro News and Record

 

The exhibit at the National Center for Civil and Human Rights explains how students in the South participated in workshops where they were trained in non-violence. Those students then staged further non-violent "sit-ins," asking to be served at white-only lunch counters to protest segregation.

"[The students] were able to get a sense of the discipline and courage that was necessary for protestors to maintain composure at sit-ins," says principal Kim Fraker. "It was a very moving experience."

The students also viewed exhibits in the Morehouse College Martin Luther King, Jr. Collection. King was a Morehouse alumnus. The Collection represents much of Dr. King's life and work, spanning from 1944 and 1968. There are approximately 10,000 items in the collection, including hundreds of handwritten notes, speeches, manuscripts, sermons and other writings of historical significance.

Courtesy:The Morehouse Martin Luther King, Jr. Collection

Courtesy:The Morehouse Martin Luther King, Jr. Collection

The Collection also includes nearly 1,100 books from Dr. King's personal library, many annotated by Dr. King. Other items include a telegram from President Lyndon B. Johnson inviting Dr. King to the signing of the Voting Rights Act, credit card receipts, "to do" lists, and other correspondence.

The Collection allows insight into King's thoughts, personality, ministerial preparation, organizational skills and strategic planning during the civil rights period. 

Related Links:

Woolworth's Lunch Counter Sit-In 

The Morehouse Martin Luther King, Jr. Collection