Why are the characters committed to nonviolence during their protest?
Requires at least 2 pieces of evidence from the text.
Standing Up By Sitting In
Article:
SCENE 1: JUNE 1960
(Three black high school students, dressed in their best clothes, stand outside a store in a South Carolina town. They are gathering courage to begin a sit-in at the store lunch counter, which serves only white people.)
Narrator: Beginning in 1960, black students started sit-ins to protest against unfair segregation laws. At sit-ins, students sat at lunch counters for hours, even though the waitresses would not serve blacks. Bystanders often harassed, or bothered, the protesters by hitting them and yelling insults. Many students were arrested for breaking segregation laws.
Joseph: [to his friends] We are just going to sit at the counter and politely order something to eat. When they refuse to serve us, we will sit there until the store closes.
David: I hope our sit-in will be peaceful, not like that one in Tennessee last week.
Linda: I heard that bystanders there kicked the protesters and squirted ketchup on their heads.
Joseph: No matter what happens, we’ll stay cool, just like we practiced in our nonviolence training.
Narrator: The students promised each other they would remain nonviolent and not fight or use ugly words, even if they were attacked or jailed. They believed their protests would have more power if they reacted to anger and hatred with peace and love.
Linda: My parents are terrified I might get hurt or arrested, but I told them it would be an honor to go to jail for this cause.
David: [nods] It’s up to us kids to push the movement forward. Our parents’ generation has made some progress with boycotts, but things are moving too slowly.
[Frank rushes up to the group. He has been part of the students’ nonviolence training]
Frank: Hey there! I heard you’re going to have a sit-in. I want to join you!
SCENE 2
(The students enter the store. There are racks of clothing for sale. Along the back wall is a lunch counter with stools. A waitress serves a plate to a white customer who is sitting at the counter. The students walk to the back and sit quietly at the counter.)
Narrator: The waitress has been afraid a sit-in might happen at her lunch counter. She does not want to serve the students. Even if she thinks segregation is unfair, her boss could fire her for serving blacks in his store. And the possibility of violence, against herself or the students, scares her.
David: I’d like to order lunch, please.
Waitress: This counter is for whites only. You know that. You’d better leave before there’s trouble.
Customer: [angrily] If you know what’s good for you, you’ll get out of here right now.
Linda: [to waitress] Your store is happy to take my money when I buy a dress. Why won’t you take my money at the lunch counter?
Waitress: It’s just the way things are around here.
Frank: Well, we say it’s time for a change!
Joseph: The color of our skin shouldn’t determine where we can sit.
Customer: [to Frank] Now why are you hanging out with them?
Frank: These guys are my friends. I can’t just stand by and watch while you treat them like second-class citizens.
Joseph: This sit-in is our way of standing up for what’s right.
Customer: [with increasing anger] I’m warning you — I’m going to call the police. They’ll put you all in jail where you belong!
David: If they arrest us, more of our friends will come.
Linda: You can fill your jails, but you’re not going to stop us!
Narrator: Student sit-ins spread through the South and succeeded in integrating lunch counters in many cities. The students’ energy and determination inspired adults to protest other forms of segregation. Without the involvement of these children, the civil rights movement might not have succeeded at all.