WSSU, Wake Forest mark anniversary of Winston-Salem sit-ins

On Feb. 23, 1960, a group of students from Winston-Salem State University were joined by students from Wake Forest University to protest segregated lunch counters in Winston-Salem.

The historic sit-in led to a desegregation agreement among local merchants in the city later that spring.

A community commemoration vigil will be held Feb. 23 at 3 p.m. in downtown Winston-Salem to mark the 60th anniversary of the sit-in.  The event is free and open to the public.

The vigil will begin in front of the Millennium Center and process to the corner of Fourth and Liberty streets, where a historical marker designates the site as the location of the “First sit-in victory in North Carolina.” Winston-Salem State University Chancellor Elwood L. Robinson and  Wake Forest President Nathan O. Hatch will open the event and lead a Vigil of Remembrance. Wake Forest School of Divinity Dean Jonathan L. Walton will give a keynote address. The WSSU Singing Rams, led by D’walla Simmons-Burke, will perform.

More information is available here.