In February of 1960, four black students staged a sit-in protest of a “whites-only” lunch counter at the popular Woolworth’s chain in Greensboro, North Carolina. The store initially refused to desegregate its counters. In response, the Minneapolis NAACP launched a boycott of the local Woolworth’s store, which, per state law, was not segregated, in an attempt to put national pressure the chain. Other NAACP chapters around the nation boycotted their local Woolworths as well. Three months after the boycott began, in July, Woolworth’s relented and desegregated their North Carolina counters. The desegregation was seen as a major victory for the NAACP and an important step towards the 1964 Civil Rights Act.
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