The Greensboro Sit in
The sit ins were very significant to the movement, they symbolized a change in the mood of African American people. The day after the sit in more students from the North Carolina agriculture and technical college started doing it. By August 1961 and estimated 70,000 had participated in sit ins across the country. More than 3,000 were arrested.
Sometimes the participants would be threatened by local customers. They would throw food or squirt ketchup. They tried to provoke fights. When they got attacked they would curl up into a ball on the floor and take the punishment.