1960+Greensboro+Sit-ins

Home TIMELINE TOPICS ASSIGNMENT: Who Is A Person In America?

1960 Greensboro Sit-ins Brooks M.
 * [[image:sit-in.jpg width="332" height="258"]] [[image:3161309508_fc5c42029a.jpeg width="400" height="254"]] ||  ||

Write a journal/newspaper style article in which you take a neutral stance (as a reporter) and give the facts about the actual event. What led up to the event? What happened during the actual event? Did it have an “end” or is it unresolved? You are to write about this event __when it happened__, you are assuming the role of a reporter in 1850, 1920, etc., __not someone looking back from 2011__. You need to cite your sources, and they must include information only available during that time period. At least one source must be primary and/or an eyewitness account. **Important - This work will be submitted to TurnItIn.com. We will provide you information about using this helpful resource**! POST PARAGRAPH HERE
 * TASK I:**

Negros Protest Racial Segregation at Sit-In
There certainly have been quite a few Negro sit-ins within the last 20 years. They started with the sit-ins in New York City during 1939, which then followed with sit-ins in Texas at the Harrison County Courthouse. They then started again 19 years later in Wichita, Kansas and Oklahoma CIty, but none had an impact on the Civil Rights Movement as much as the most recent sit-in, the Greensboro Sit-Ins.

Four Negro students, Joseph McNeil, Franklin McCain, Ezell Blair Jr. and David Richmond started a sit-in on February 1st when they were denied service at a F.W. WoolWorth lunch counter. The "Greensboro Four" sat in the whites-only section and asked the waitress for a cup of coffee, of which they were denied. "I beg your pardon, you just served me at a counter two feet away. Why is it that you serve me at one counter and deny me at another. Why not stop serving me at all counters?" (Sitton). With no response, the Negros stayed in their seats until the store closed at 5:30, but came back on February 3rd, with a group of 20 students. The second sit-in had the same result as the first. Even more came on the 3rd, and on the 4th there were about 300 Negros taking part in the sit-in. Surprisingly, "police officers...made no arrests" (Purnell 3).

As news has spread about the Greensboro Sit-ins, more and more cities are experiencing their own. Cities such as Charlotte, Raleigh, Lexington, Nashville and many others are having the same issues Greensboro is having.

//Times// 14 Feb. 1960: n. pag. //nytimes//. Web. 3 Oct. 2011. . ||
 * < Sitton, Claude. "Negro Sitdowns Stir Fear of Wider Unrest in South." //New York//

Web. 19 Sept. 2011. . || Task 1: Mastery Rubric A quality news article will: • open with an attention-grabbing headline •identify the author's name and the date of the publication (in the past) •develop the 5 W's in three power paragraphs •paragraph 1: contain an interesting lead •paragraph 2: correctly cite a secondary source (an indirect quote) •paragraph 3: correctly cite a primary source (eyewitness account) •maintain appropriate journalistic voice •read like an article written in the same time period as the event occurred •be free of mechanics and Works Cited errors TASK II What is the Argument?
 * Purnell, Brian. "Sit-Ins." //Oxford African American Studies Center//. N.p., n.d.

Blacks were holding sit-ins at restraunts and other public places to show they thought they belonged as a normal citizens, but the white people dissagreed.

PROMPT 1: Why did the majority of Americans not recognize the rights of members of this group?

Blacks were not considered equal to whites in the U.S. until the 1970s. Before they got their rights, they were treated horribly and sometimes even killed. Many people wanted the blacks out of the U.S. and formed groups, such as the KKK, to get rid of all the blacks and make the U.S. an all white country. Blacks started the Civil Rights Movement as a cry for help, hoping that it would give them the rights they thought they deserved. One of the major acts in the Civil Rights Movemnt were the sit-ins, such as the popular Greensboro Sit-ins, in which blacks stayed at restraunts or other public places until they were given what they wanted. Joseph McNeil, one of the "Greensboro Four" said in an interview that he took part in the sit-in because "segregration makes [him] feel that [he is] unwanted" and that he "doesn't want [his] children exposed to it" (Sitton).

PROMPT 2: How did advocates for the minority group shed light on this injustice? POST PARAGRAPH HERE The advocates, in this case, the "Greensboro Four, didn't appreciate the service they were given at the F.W. Woolworth lunch counter in Greensboro, North Carolina. They believed that they should be treated equal to the whites and should be given the same service as the whites were given. Many other blacks backed the Greensboro Four up and it became a huge sit-in with more than "200 students" . In the end, blacks got what they deserved, being served what they wanted and being treated equal to whites.

__Paragraph 1:__ Analyze the impact of the literary or artistic work for the minority group and/or American society as a whole. POST PARAGRAPH HERE = Merry-Go-Round = Where is the Jim Crow section On this merry-go-round, Mister, cause I want to ride? Down South where I come from White and colored Can't sit side by side. Down South on the train There's a Jim Crow car. On the bus we're put in the back— But there ain't no back To a merry-go-round! Where's the horse <span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">For a kid that's black? <span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">**Langston Hughes**
 * TASK III:**

Langston Hughes wrote many poems, including the one above, that impacted the civil rights movement. Hughes wrote this poem to show that blacks and whites can't sit side by side in many different locations, including a car and a bus, but they can sit side by side on a merry-go-round. This poem has no direct relation to the Greensboro Sit-Ins, the blacks during the protest couldn't "sit side by side" (Hughes) with the whites and were moved to the blacks-only area. Hughes and the "Greensboro Four" both didn't think that segregation was right, and that they should be able to sit next to the whites and be treated equal to the whites.

<span style="color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 11px; text-align: left;">__Paragraph 2:__ CLOSING-- How did the event impact the debate on the argument? POST PARAGRAPH HERE The famous Greensboro Sit-ins had a huge impact not only on letting blacks be served equal to whites at the lunch counter, but the entire civil rights movement itself. The news about blacks holding a silent protest in Greensboro "spread to lunch counters across the country" (Norris), causing blacks in other cities to hold their own. The Greensboro protestors won their protest, allowing them to be served at all lunch counters, but others did not. Something as small as 4 blacks boys being denied service in 1960 was a normal thing, but you have to watch who you denied, because it could spark the wrong people and start a wildfire. <span style="color: #008080; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 14px;">An outstanding product will. <span style="color: #008080; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 14px;">•showcase a work that expresses a profound idea about your event and the argument surrounding it <span style="color: #008080; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 14px;">•be the **best** example available, not simply the first one you find <span style="color: #008080; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 14px;">•demonstrate your ability to interpret the meaning of the literary or artistic piece <span style="color: #800080; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 14px;">This is a great poem to use here. Are you sure that blacks could sit next to whites on merry go rounds? I don't think that can be inferred from the poem, but I can understand why you might think so. <span style="color: #008080; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 14px;">•use the extended power paragraph format as a means to express your understanding of the event, argument, and how art literature and art <span style="color: #008080; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 14px;">can reveal emotions and ideas <span style="color: #800080; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 14px;">Be sure to begin with a clear topic sentence that directly responds to the prompt. Avoid saying "you" as it is a direct statement to your reader. <span style="color: #008080; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 14px;">•reference sources accurately <span style="color: #800080; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 14px;">You need to cite the poem. <span style="color: #008080; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 14px;">•mechanics are clean and effective
 * <span style="color: #008080; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 17px;">TASK III: Artistic Expression Element Rubric **

An outstanding time line entry includes the following: • Opens by identifying you, the author, and your event with a banner headline (see an example of a banner on the top of this page). • Under the banner, in the table place two graphics or photos that illustrates an important aspect of the event. • Thoughtful responses to each prompt are supported by credible sources representing diverse perspectives on the event. • Each response should be posted in order (follow template instructions), contain few mechanic errors and follow the power paragraph format. • The credibility of each cited source is established and internal citations accurately match the Works Cited. • TASK I and TASK II each introduce and cite two new sources; TASK III cites one new source. • The Works Cited lists 5 credible sources from the LC databases.
 * Rubric for the Time Line Page**