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F.W. Woolworth Sit-in
Four Black college students sit-in at a "Whites only" lunch counter in Greensboro, NC. The non-violent protest of racial segregation policies sparked a movement nationally and led to the formation of the Student Non-violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) -
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Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) Established
Around 200 people attended a meeting at Shaw University in Raliegh, NC. Organized by Ella Baker, a civil rights coordinator and director of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), SNCC committed itself to organizing sit-ins, boycotts, and other nonviolent direct-action protests to challenge segregation and combat racial discrimination. -
Freedom Rides
SNCC joined the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) movement to desegregate interstate bus transportation. The Freedom Rides faced violent resistance, including a bus firebombing and brutal attacks throughout Alabama. Led by Diane Nash, SNCC activists continued the rides despite arrests and assaults of the members. The Freedom Riders’ commitment to nonviolence inspired widespread activism, drawing more young people to SNCC and expanding its influence across the South. -
Voter Education Project Begins
SNCC turned their attention to voter suppression in the south. Initially there was a debate within the committee that divided the movement. Thoughts that moving focus toward less direct action would hurt momentum of the protests. Eventually they would attack the issue because the right to vote was the pathway to accomplishing political power for Black Americans. -
March on Washington
Chairman of SNCC, John Lewis, prepared a speech at the March for jobs and freedom in Washington, DC. Controversially, the speech did not support President Kennedy's Civil Rights Bill. The hateful rhetoric from Lewis was contested from other civil rights leaders and he was asked to soften his speech. This event marked a turning point in the nature of the SNCC, from a non-violent org. to a more confrontational org. -
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Freedom Summer
Freedom Summer, or the Mississippi Summer Project, was a 1964 effort to register Black voters in Mississippi. Groups like CORE, SNCC, and COFO led the project, with over 700 volunteers, mostly white, working alongside local Black residents. They faced violent attacks from the Ku Klux Klan and local authorities. The violence, including beatings, arrests, and murders, brought national attention to voter suppression and helped lead to the Voting Rights Act of 1965.