a sit-in at woolworth lunch counter in greensboro, north carolina, lasted five months, and it sparked similar protests across the south. nate burleson met with one of the original protesters at that very same lunch counter. it's now a museum and a national landmark. >> all of the restoration -- >> reporter: what's now an empty lunch counter was once packed with crowds and conflict. at 17 years old, joseph mcneil, a freshman in college, took a bold stand by asking for service at a segregated lunch counter. >> i told my mother, that i might be taking on something very difficult. >> reporter: right. >> i might be going to jail. >> reporter: right. >> and she says what? what are you doing going to jail? >> reporter: he was worried about being arrested for the act of sitting still after he and three friends, ezell blair jr., david richmond, and franklin mccain started a sit-in at woolworth department store. >> four college student, all negroes were refused service at at a north carolina lunch counter and the civil rights movement was born. as we sit here in the same space as woolworth's lu