Attorney George Greene (far left)

Photograph: Attorney George Greene (far left) is seen at the Wake County Jail with St. Augustine College and Shaw University students after they were arrested outside the Cameron Village (present-day Village District) Woolworth’s before a planned sit-in protest, 12 February 1960.

Sourced from: NO.60.2.1189
From the N&O Negative Collection, State Archives of North Carolina.
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Civil rights protesters charged with trespass for protesting segregated lunch counters at Woolworth's, Cameron Village, enter Raleigh City Court, March 28, 1960.

On February 10, 130 African American students entered eight Raleigh establishments requesting service, despite a reported meeting between church and city leaders to head off civil disobedience in the city.

According to The News and Observer, students protested at Woolworth's (downtown), McLellan's, Hudson-Belk, Kress, Eckerd's Drug Store, Walgreen's Drug Store, Cromley's, Sir Walter Drug Store, and the Woolworth's in Cameron Village Shopping Center.

Anticipating the action, lunch counters were closed and some entire stores closed early. Reporting suggests the students came from Shaw and Saint Augustine's and were organized,

"They came and went in shifts, with from 10 to 20 students always remaining in a store. "

The students were quiet and did not respond to hecklers and threats.

In some stores, students left when police arrived and threatened arrest. In the Cameron Village Woolworth's, between 6 and 30 protested over the course of the day.

Raleigh Mayor William G. Enloe issued a statement that read, in part, "It is regrettable that some of our young Negro students would risk endangering Raleigh's friendly and cooperative race relations by seeking to change a long-standing custom in a manner that is all but determined to fail."

A student at Woolworth's was quoted, "We've been organized all year...We decided to do this yesterday.

(Adapted from an essay submitted with historical marker application by Mary Ruffin-Hanbury)

Citations
Craven, Charles and David Cooper, "Student Sitdown Strike Spreads to Stores Here," The News and Observer February 11, 1960
Craven, Charles "Police Arrest 41 Students In Raleigh Demonstration," The News and Observer February 13, 1960
DeLaney , Theodore Carter , "The Sit-In Demonstrations in Historic Perspective" The North Carolina Historical Review , October 2010, Vol. 87, No. 4 , pp. 431-438
"43 Students Convicted, Fined for Trespassing in 'Sitdowns'," The News and Observer, March 29, 1960
Hampton, Chester "Moral, Human Right," Afro-American February 20, 1960
Johnson, Aaron and Deb Cleveland Man from Macedonia: My Life of Service, Struggle, Faith, and Hope Bloomington, Indiana: West Bow Press, 2010.
"Major Sit-Down Victory is Won," Atlanta Daily World, April 28, 1960
"Major Sit-Down Victory Won," Michigan Chronicle (1939-Current); Apr 30, 1960
"Many Arrested, but Sit-Downs Roll on from Florida to N. Y. C." New Journal and Guide , March 12, 1960
"Mayor's Statement," The News and Observer February 11, 1960

Sourced from: NC AAHC