Final answer:
Protesters sat at lunch counters as a nonviolent protest against racial segregation, aiming to challenge discriminatory practices and bring about social change.
Step-by-step explanation:
During the civil rights movement in the 1960s, protesters sat at lunch counters until they were served as a form of nonviolent protest against racial segregation.
One famous example is the Greensboro sit-ins, where four African-American college students sat at the segregated lunch counter at Woolworth's in North Carolina.
They deliberately chose Woolworths because it was a national chain, and they believed that negative publicity would put pressure on the company to change its policies.
The sit-ins attracted more supporters and spread to other cities, leading to the desegregation of many public accommodations.
The protesters aimed to challenge discriminatory practices and bring about social change by using civil disobedience and drawing attention to racial inequality.