A Brief History of the Sit-In Movement

The Woolworth's Today
Closed in 1993, the site of the first sit-in was threatened with destruction until local leaders proposed buying the site and turning it into a museum devoted to the civil rights movement. Their efforts climaxed on Feb. 1, 2010 — the 50th anniversary of the four students' initial act of civil disobedience — when the International Civil Rights Center & Museum had its official grand opening. In addition to preserving the lunch counter where the four young men sat, the museum will serve as an archival center, collecting museum and teaching facility devoted to the international struggle for civil and human rights.

• Martin Luther King Jr. at Home