By the end of 1960, some 70,000 demonstrators had taken part in sit-ins at lunch counters across the South to protest against segregation. Segregation refers to the enforced separation of different racial groups in public spaces like schools, restaurants, and public transportation. These sit-ins were part of the Civil Rights Movement, a nonviolent protest against racial segregation and discrimination that aimed to achieve equal rights for African Americans.
The protesters participating in sit-ins aimed to challenge the segregation policies that prohibited African Americans from being served at the same lunch counters as white people. Through these demonstrations, they sought to bring attention to the injustices of segregation and to push for desegregation, which is the process of ending this separation based on race.
The sit-ins were a significant form of civil disobedience that highlighted the inequalities and discrimination faced by African Americans in the United States. These protests played a crucial role in raising awareness about the need for civil rights reform and eventually contributed to the desegregation of public spaces.
