“We Never Stopped Moving” – N.C. A&T Alumnus Reflects on Sit-In Movement

On Feb. 2, 1960, Sandy Royster ’64, who at the time was the Freshmen Class treasurer, was sitting in his biology class when Franklin McCain shared with him what happened on the day before. He had shared with his classmates that himself, Ezell Blair, Jr. (Jibreel Khazan), Joseph McNeil and David Richmond walked downtown and “sat – in” at the whites–only lunch counter at Woolworth’s. The four had refused to leave when denied service and stayed until the store closed.

“I remember Franklin saying, ‘if we can’t sit at their lunch counter, then we want to occupy every seat at the counter,’ he then proceeded to ask other students to join in with them and to work in shifts.”

“There were also students from Bennett College, later in the movement students from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro (an all-women’s college at that time) and the local James B. Dudley High School. We were informed to look straight ahead, to not be confrontational and to try not to show any emotion of anger.” 

“While students would sit down at the counter, we would stand behind them because white patrons would try to take the seats from us. Also, the help of the women from UNC-Greensboro helped out a lot because they could walk into Woolworth’s without any problems and the customers would give them the seats without knowing they were a part of the movement.”

“On the days I wasn’t doing the sit-ins, I would picket with other students on the streets of Greensboro. I would often find myself leading protests songs such as ‘We Shall Overcome.’”

“While we were picketing, we couldn’t stop walking because we would get arrested for loitering and it was the same for white people. We never stopped moving but there were those who did and they were arrested.”

“White men would try to intimidate us by rattling chains in our faces, calling us names and throwing cigarettes at us. They would harass us nonstop but we never fought back.”

“I continued protesting consistently until May 1960 until it was time for me to go back home. I was able to balance out my class work and protest throughout the week, usually on Fridays and Saturdays were our biggest days, said Royster.”

 The Greensboro sit-in lasted from February 1 to July 26, 1960.