Civil Disobedience Museum

Civil Disobedience : The Impacts it had

The definition of civil disobedience is the refusal to comply with certain laws or to pay taxes and fines, as a peacful form of political protest. This is what the movement was all about: making changes in the world in a peaceful way. There were many events in the movement that lead to great change, and we are going to discuss these three: The Freedom Riders, The Selma Marches, and The Greensboro Sit-ins.

Selma Marches

Greensboro Sit-ins

Freedom Riders

Freedom Riders

Room 01

Back to event

• Who: The freedom riders. (6 white, 12 black, 2 of which were women.
• What: They wanted to see if they could sit wherever they wanted and get the same treatment.
• Where: They started in Washington D.C. and their final destination was New Orleans, Louisiana.
• When: The spring of 1961

It is important because they were able to ride on all transportation without having it to be segregated, because the interstate commerce commission outlawed discriminatory seating practices.

Selma Marches

Room 02

Back to event

• Who: It was organized by John Lewis, a leader of the sncc, and one of the original freedom riders.
• What: It was part of a voting rights campaign to get black people the right to vote. A black teen was protesting for the right to vote and was killed by a police officer.
• Where: It took place in Alabama, from Selma to Montgomery(54 miles).
• When: There were 3 marches on March 7th, March 9th, and March 21st-25th of 1965.

It is important because it convinced President Johnson to pass the voting rights act that allowed black people to vote and it canceled out the literacy test and the poll tax.

Greensboro Sit-ins

Room 03

Back to event

• Who: It started with 4 black college students, but the numbers soon grew
• What: They were protesting the segregation of restaurants and lunch counters. They stayed until it closed and came back right when they opened. Condiments were dumped on their heads and they were arrested. Many people all over the country were inspired and started to participate in the movement.
• Where: Greensboro, NC, the first place they sat at was Woolworth’s store
• When: 1960

It is important because it got other people to protest the movement and the other movements too, which led to the desegregation of restaurants.