but it was actually july before woolworth's integrated. it was a tough fight, a tough fight for that particular store. once woolworth's was open, that did not mean that greensboro was open. it was just one fight after another until 1963. greensboro was not the first sit-in. it was wichita where the first sit-in took place. the difference is it did not take off in the sense of national media and people copycating yet. greensboro, everything came together. people became galvanized and imaginations got sparked. there were citizens in south carolina and florida and all across the country after -- sit-in in south carolina and florida and all across the country after greece broke. what are we going to do about restaurants in movies -- after greensboro. what are we going to do about restaurants and movies? they try to keep hope alive, as jesse jackson says, by having meetings and energizing people. it was difficult after a wild. people graduated, they went home, got jobs. you have a small group of students and faculty who are left here to try kee

but it was actually july before woolworth's integrated. it was a tough fight, a tough fight for that particular store. once woolworth's was open, that did not mean that greensboro was open. it was just one fight after another until 1963. greensboro was not the first sit-in. it was wichita where the first sit-in took place. the difference is it did not take off in the sense of national media and people copycating yet. but greensboro, everything came together. people became galvanized and imaginations got sparked. there were sit-in in south carolina and florida and all across the country after greensboro. the fight had just started in greensboro. what are we going to do about other restaurants and movies? they try to keep hope alive, as jesse jackson says, by having meetings and energizing people. it was very difficult for a while. people graduated, they went home, got jobs. you have a small group of students and faculty who are left here to try keep things moving, and a lot of that is in the book also. a lot of those people were bennett peo

and what happened with woolworth was they enjoyed selling you their snacks but you had to stand up at the end of the room and eat them. you could not sit down at the counter. and most other places you could not eat in the restaurants. and in some clothing stores you were not welcome whether you had the money or not. so it was life as a par tide. it was second-class citizenship. when people became to think the same way and someone else thinks the same way and ideas take off for reasons that no body quite understands, and i think it was time, you know? people were fed up and sick and tired of being sick and tired of being second-class citizens. so they all had that same kind of sense that is it is time to do something. that the king came to bennett -- dr. king -- and spoke in 1958 and there were things going on with school desegeration which was a big deal in america in 1954-1955 with the supreme court decision. all of that is going on. here on this campus the campus of bennett college, there was a student naacp chapter. and naacp has always had student chapters particularly in historic

they came here to this woolworth building and this lunch counter to sit down and be treated like a first-class citizen and be served against their policies and practices. this is the actual lunch counter area that's been preserved. some seats have been taken out in other areas that are at thing smithsonian and other musics. the four young men that sat in here have talked to us about around where they sat, so a lot of the things you will see here are the actual advertisements around the different menu items they offered and the prices. these four were franklin mccain, ezell blair, joseph mcneal, and david richmond. they were freshmen at north carolina a&t state university, a historically black university here. they came to the store, sat at the lunch counter and asked to order i believe some coffee and a piece of pie. the response was really mixed. "you boys go on from here," i think another waitress was saying, "we don't serve colored people here.” the word spread quickly the next day that this was going to be ongoing and that other people were wanting to get involved. other adults were showin

to cut it, because the wig i had before was like this -- thing you get at -- i don't know, the woolworths or something, it was like putting a dog on my head. and we got this wig and he said, hold on a second. and then the next script was oscar, they never cut it. >> new character, didn't cut it >> new character >> bringing the show back after all that time being off >> yeah >> how hard it to get back into character >> four minutes >> didn't even take a -- >> yeah. i remember a beautiful moment was when we all did the first living room scene and we all -- >> like a family reunion, right? >> it was really something. this was after five years, after yes, no, maybe, can you do, can you be, yes, no, and then we're all in the living room and we're looking at each other and everyone just burst into -- just into applause >> oh, sure. it's a feat to get everybody back together >> yeah. but this is a family. >> yeah. >> and hooray. and this was a revolution, because the audience brought us back >> all the questions and all the demands when are we going to have another season. and honestly let's gli

greensboro is home to the woolworth's counter where civil rights activist started thes sit in movements. our time warner cable partners worked with c-span cities tour staff when we recently traveled to greensboro to explore the city's rich history. more about greensboro all weekend here on american history tv. >> a confrontation that occurred in greensboro on november 3 1979 is extremely complex with many perspectives and many facts to consider. on november third, the communist workers party, which had formally been the workers viewpoint organization, had arranged to hold a parade in eastern greensboro to try to unite blacks and people who might be potentially union members. they engaged with the ku klux klan, invited the klan succumbed to greensboro, which they call the death to the klan march which certainly was confrontational from the outset. members were gathering with neighborhood residents around 11:00 in the morning for the parade to kick off at noon, but before that could happen, a caravan of nazi and klan members arrived on the scene. before uniformed police were present, viol

i stopped at woolworth's and bought a ledger for 98 cents and we had dinner and entered contributions and went over the ground rules and went from there. >> aunt katie, you had to hit up family. how much did aunt katie give you? >> i think aunt katie probably gave me, it was in a couple different installments over time. maybe $20,000 or something. >> when she died, may she rest her soul, what was that worth? >> i think probably may have been worth a couple hundred million. i'm not sure. >> couple hundred million. a nice return. >> she never moved from the house she bought in 1927. >> she got to fly private. >> but it didn't change much. >> running a publicly traded company, when you took that plunge. one of our first meetings, this shows viewers the contrast. it was held in a cafeteria back in the day. >> yeah, at first we held a meeting back in new bedford because we were a massachusetts corporation, and then we reincorporated in delaware and could move the meetings there and had a lunchroom at national indemnity. >> did anybody show up? >> at max, maybe 12. and aunt katie would come

. >> my kids p used to be phillip, petroleum and z which is now zillow used to be woolworth. >> s used to be sears. it's now sprint. >> it's so funny when i saw single letter stock symbols as a category i made everybody watch the show for the rest of it. you're right. we have no shows. >> we have no lives but we all watch it together. it's a little bit sad. did you see how hard that stuff was? >> yes. >> do you know the woman that got most of the answers on it was actually a drama coach. >> all right. because the teefers. >> teachers week. >> it is and the questions are easier. they don't want the teachers to look bad. >> but none of them got the math teachers right. >> x equals 2. >> we have no lives. >> we saw the whole thing. let me talk about -- >> we get up early. >> yeah that's our night. watching alex it has trebec impress himself with how he pronounces french names activism blizzard -- the thing that bug mess about alex is when they don't get it right he's like no. he has no idea. he couldn't get -- he couldn't get any of them but he's like no. it's blah blah. yeah right. activ

this building once housed the woolworth's store. >> what happened in 1960, february 1, four young men from north carolina amt state university chose that day to make a stand -- really, to take a seat so that the rest of us would be able to do that. they took a stand against jim crow, against segregation, against whites only access to public accommodations, and to being seen as a first-class it is in. they came here to this lunch counter to sit down to be treated like a first-class citizen and to be served against their policies and practices. this year in the museum is the actual lunch counter area that has been preserved. there have been some seats that have been taken out in other areas that are at the smithsonian institute, at the greensboro historical museum so the gentlemen that sat and have talked to us about around where they sat. a lot of things you will see here are the advertisements, the different menu items they offered, and the prices. these four young gentlemen were franklin mccain, is aware, joseph mcneil, and david richmond. they were freshmen at north carolina amt sta