Final answer:
In February 1960, African American students from North Carolina A&T staged a sit-in at a segregated Woolworth's lunch counter in Greensboro, sparking a broader movement that led to the integration of public places in North Carolina that same year.
Step-by-step explanation:
During the 1960s, civil rights groups gathered in public places to hold protests. In February 1960, young African American students from North Carolina A&T State University held a protest at a Woolworth's in Greensboro. These students called for equality and civil rights by staging a sit-in. Protests led to the integration of public places in North Carolina in 1960.
On February 1, 1960, four sophomores at the North Carolina Agricultural & Technical College in Greensboro—Ezell Blair, Jr., Joseph McNeil, David Richmond, and Franklin McCain—entered the local Woolworth's and sat at the lunch counter. This lunch counter was segregated, and they were refused service as expected. The idea was to choose Woolworth's, a national chain, because it was especially vulnerable to negative publicity. Their actions sparked a broader movement, encouraging more protestors and leading to more widespread desegregation of public spaces.
The Greensboro sit-ins were influenced by the principles of nonviolent protest, echoing the tactics of earlier desegregation efforts like the Montgomery bus boycott. The movement they created was about more than equality at a lunch counter; it was about empowerment and justice. Civil rights activist Ella Baker's principles of "participatory democracy" were embodied in these protests. Furthermore, these events led to the formation of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), which played a significant role in the civil rights movement.