SNCC, Sit-ins and the Student Movement

**RWalker** · 02-01-2005

Today marks another anniversary of the student sit-in at Woolworth...this is how one of the many sites on the web that document that turning point in history details the event:

"On February 1, 1960, a group of black college students from North Carolina A&T University refused to leave a Woolworth's lunch counter in Greensboro, North Carolina where they had been denied service. This sparked a wave of other sit-ins in college towns across the South. The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, or SNCC (pronounced "snick"), was created on the campus of Shaw University in Raleigh two months later to coordinate these sit-ins, support their leaders, and publicize their activities."

"Over the next decade, civil rights activism moved beyond lunch counter sit-ins. In this violently changing political climate, SNCC struggled to define its purpose as it fought white oppression. Out of SNCC came some of today's black leaders, such as former Washington, D.C. mayor Marion Barry, Congressman John Lewis and NAACP chairman Julian Bond. Together with hundreds of other students, they left a lasting impact on American history.

"This site covers the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee from its birth in 1960 to 1966, when John Lewis was replaced by Stokely Carmichael as chairman. This event marks a decided change in philosophy for SNCC, and one that warrants an equal amount of attention. However, we have focused on the first six years of the movement, in order to adequately explore such events as sit-ins, the Freedom Rides and Freedom Summer."

http://www.ibiblio.org/sncc/

Of course after the members of SNCC chose Kwame Ture, the Non-Violent was changed to National, and SNCC became a leading force in the world revolution, building on their direct action posture (activities such as organizing MFDP with Ms. Hamer in MS; Lowndes County Freedom Org. in AL, the original Black Panther party and similar actions) and their understanding of the peoples' intrinsic black (African) nationalism (as exemplified by their relationship with Malcolm, their view on Black United Front, their advocacy of self-defense, political-economic independence, primacy of the African identity, their explanation of the meaning and basis of Black Power and so forth) the majority bloc in SNCC, led by Kwame Ture succeeded in launching a major challenge to capitalism, and advocate socialist construction; denounce Israel and zionism, and supported the Palestinians, fought the imperialist war machine and the draft and supported the National Liberation Front of South Viet Nam, revolutionary Cuba and the struggles of all oppressed nations; strengthened their ties with mother Africa and in sum, called for Black Power.

**XXPANTHAXX** · 02-01-2005

Warrior RWalker asante sana for this footnote in history, we are please to inform you and the membership that Mukasa Dada fka Willie Ricks of SNCC is also a member and moderator on the forum with us.. we recently interviewed him Click Here A luta continua