The lunch counter "sit-ins" were started by four college aged African-American men who were protesting the fact that African-American citizens could not sit and eat lunch at the Woolworth's lunch counter in Greensboro, North Carolina.
This form of nonviolent protest grew rapidly, as these four men were able to gain the support of hundreds of other African-American citizens in mere days. From there, this turned into a movement in which African-Americans all over the state protested against this policy.
Ultimately, the policy was changed and African-Americans now had the ability to eat at a nonsegregated lunch counter in the Woolworth's in Greensboro.
