Week 3 - The Sit-In Movement
Three Lexington ministers and an unidentified women participate in a sit-in in Lexington, KY. (Courtesy of Calvert McCann)
The Civil Rights Movement was one of the most crucial moments in our nation’s history, where people of color (mainly African-Americans) would finally get a small taste of equality and dignity as citizens of the United States of America. The plight of Black people in America up to this point in history has been characterized as oppressive, unequal, and inhumane. The last two weeks in this series has hopefully illustrated that for us.
Typically, when we think of the Civil Rights Movement our minds harken back to the great marches in Selma, Alabama and Washington, D.C.; Rosa Parks’ refusal to get up from her bus seat; Dr. King’s I Have A Dream Speech; and the countless other acts of protest that scattered our nation at the time. But, what about Lexington, Kentucky? Did our city play a role during this pivotal moment in our history? Or, did Lexington, like many other cities throughout the south, choose to silence those who had something to say about equality for all?
Before this movement turned to large marches and speeches to make their voices heard, there were “Sit-Ins”. The Civil Rights Movement was mostly a grassroots initiative that took place within Jim Crow states to speak out against federally-legislated racial segregation and oppression. Because of Jim Crow laws, everything we did in this country was segregated based on race, including restaurants. If you were Black, you could not enter a white owned restaurant, let alone be served. “Sit-Ins” were peaceful demonstrations determined to get white owned and operated restaurants to serve Black people. They would go into local white-owned restaurants, sit down, and wait to be served. These “Sit-Ins” were so organized that participants took shifts to ensure that someone was always taking up a seat in the restaurant so long as the place was open.
The first recorded “Sit-In” in Lexington took place on July 11, 1959 at a restaurant near the University of Kentucky’s campus (1), and the pictures you see throughout this post are folks from Lexington who participated in these peaceful protests. People like those in these pictures would endure food and drinks poured on them as they waited, some were cursed at, mocked, or called derogatory names. Others were attacked and physically removed from the restaurant. All of this because they had darker skin than those in authority and their fellow peers.
However, those who participated in “Sit-Ins” were trained never to retaliate with hate, violence, or physical defensiveness. Their mission was to demand justice in one hand while demonstrating peace in the other. This was a difficult thing to do when you were living in a country where the color of your skin meant you were less than your white neighbor. Black people during this time were seen as second class citizens by their white peers and by their own local, state, and federal government.
Many of you may be reading this and wondering, “Why would people during the Civil Rights Movement choose to fight for justice with peace?” Most revolutions employ the opposite. What sets this revolution apart from all the others is the fact that God was at the center of it.
Now, let me reiterate. To do what these brave men and women did during the Civil Rights Movement was far from easy! They did not simply go about justice with peace because it was politically correct, but rather they did so because of a man named Jesus. These were human beings that lived in America with their Bibles in one hand and the pain of injustice in the other. There is not enough space here to go deeper into this tough reality, but what we do learn from these courageous souls is that the same God who informed their feet is the same God who comforted their hearts when the world around them was against them.
African-American women participate in a sit-in demonstration in Lexington
It is that same truth that empowered and sustained those who participated in these “Sit-Ins”. The gospel of Jesus Christ met the folks of the Civil Rights Movement in that tension. Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. believed that the best way to demand justice was to do so in the most righteous way possible: non-violently and peacefully (2). These “Sit-Ins” were the tangible expressions of a movement that held biblical justice and righteousness in the highest regard. Dr. King made it a point to go about the Civil Rights Movement primarily through these means. His secondary reasoning for going about justice with non-violence was that he hoped it would bring compassion towards the marginalized from the white majority.
Unfortunately, that was not the case. From city hall to predominantly-white churches, the majority of America responded with indifference at best, and hate at worst. What predominantly-white churches failed to do then (and what I pray isn’t repeated today, though it seems to be) was to be compassionate towards those who are suffering and experiencing injustice. The Apostle Paul in Romans 12:15-16 (ESV) commands the church in Rome to “Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight.” The Christian life is one where we move closer to those who hurt not away. We see this perfectly in the person and work Jesus the Christ. Rather than ignoring a world and people that is riddled with brokenness and injustice, God came down and stepped right in the middle of it.
Because of Christ, the Church has the opportunity to do the same when we see injustice, racism, and prejudice. I encourage you this week to consider and pray how God can begin to grow you in compassion for those who experience injustice.
- Jared & Marshall
(1) Smith, Gerald L. 2002. Lexington Kentucky. Vol. Black America Series. N.p.: Arcadia Publishing.
(2) Matthew 5:9