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From Segregation to Sit-ins: the Greensboro Woolworth Lunch Counter

Activity 1: Change over time: the Greensboro Woolworth's Lunch Counter

  1. Watch the introductory movie together as a class [http://objectofhistory.org/objects/intro/lunchcounter/]. Discuss the basic story of the Greensboro sit-ins.
  2. Visit the Virtual Object section in the Introduction. Ask students to remember the importance of closely examining material culture objects when using them as historical evidence. Provide them with a few minutes to use the Quicktime Virtual Reality version of the Greensboro Woolworth's lunch counter.
  3. Allow students to spend time examining the sources in the Explore section of the Lunch Counter Object Lesson [http://objectofhistory.org/objects/explore/lunchcounter/].
    • Remind students that the Explore section contains primary and secondary sources, organized into three main categories:
      1. The Object category containing sources related to the lunch counter as a piece of material culture.
      2. The Object in History category containing sources related to the place of the lunch counter in the historical context of struggles over segregation.
      3. The Object in the Museum category containing information related to how NMAH acquired and displayed the lunch counter.
    • Remind students that the video clips of the curators discussing the objects constitute the secondary sources on the site. All other materials are primary sources.
    • Remind students that each primary source is accompanied by supporting information that is essential to critical historical thinking. First, at the top of the source is an annotation that provides contextual information. Second, the sourcing information, including author, title, and date of creation, is located at the bottom of the source. Instruct students to consider all of this information carefully as they work.
  4. Ask students to consider the place of the Woolworth's lunch counter in life of Greensboro. How did its role and significance change over time? For each date below, students should write a paragraph about the lunch counter and its historical context.
    • February 1, 1959: Describe the role of lunch counters in urban communities. Use evidence from the site (particularly from the Explore: Object section).
    • February 1, 1960: Describe the events of the day of the sit-in. Use evidence from the site (particularly from the Explore: Object in History section).
    • February 1, 1961: Describe the near-term change, after the sit-ins. Use evidence from the site (particularly from the Explore: Object in History section).
    • February 1, 1995: Describe the long term change. Use evidence from the site (particularly from the Explore: Object in the Museum section).