THE FIGHT FOR THEIR RIGHTS
By Weston
Today, my class and I went to the Center for Civil and Human Rights. At the Center for Civil and Human Rights, I got to experience a first-person simulation of the student Sit-In protests. The Sit-In protests were led by African-American college students protesting against Jim Crow laws and fighting for their Civil Rights in the 1950s and 1960s. The college students would eat supper at whites-only cafes to show they have the same rights as whites. African American college students attending Black Colleges and Universities in the United States powered the sit in movement across the country. Many students across the country followed by example, as Sit-Ins provided a powerful, peaceful, nonviolent tool for students to attract attention.
The instructions were simple: sit quietly and wait to be served. Often, the participants would be jeered and threatened by local customers. Sometimes, they would be pelted with food or ketchup. Angry onlookers tried to provoke fights that never came. In the event of a physical attack, the student would curl up into a ball on the floor and take the punishment. As I stepped up to the simulation, the museum worker told me to sit still in the cafe seats, keep my hands on the table, and put on the headphones.
During the Sit-In simulation, the verbal harassment brought tears to my eyes. I was astonished by the brutality that African Americans would take. It took courage to stay in my seat while people threatened to murder me. The Center of Civil and Human Rights is one of the most powerful museums that I have ever been to. Hopefully, I will have privilege to come back again.
The instructions were simple: sit quietly and wait to be served. Often, the participants would be jeered and threatened by local customers. Sometimes, they would be pelted with food or ketchup. Angry onlookers tried to provoke fights that never came. In the event of a physical attack, the student would curl up into a ball on the floor and take the punishment. As I stepped up to the simulation, the museum worker told me to sit still in the cafe seats, keep my hands on the table, and put on the headphones.
During the Sit-In simulation, the verbal harassment brought tears to my eyes. I was astonished by the brutality that African Americans would take. It took courage to stay in my seat while people threatened to murder me. The Center of Civil and Human Rights is one of the most powerful museums that I have ever been to. Hopefully, I will have privilege to come back again.