Different people have different views on the Greensboro sit-ins. Some people believe that the Greensboro sit-ins were a huge stepping stone of the Civil Right's movement, and they believe that it was a critical and important part of the movement. Others, like Dr. McGill, believe that the sit-ins hurt the movement, and that because of that, African Americans were viewed differently in bad ways. In an interview with Dr. McGill, he shows his contrasting opinions through the answers to two questions: 1) What was the significance (in your opinion) of the movement? and 2) What are your impressions of the movement?
His answers were as follows:
1. The significance of the
Greensboro Sit-Ins had broad reaching impact all over the country. As the media
age blossomed to where a lot more American homes had TV sets more information
was able to get to other parts of the country faster. This event was no
different as the participants took a page right out of Martin Luther King's
interpretation of nonviolence protests (which was originally from Mahatma
Gandhi's position during the Indian Independence) and it showed other people
that people's presence can make more of a lasting impact than their fists.
2. My impression of the event will probably be a little different than you
expected. While I thought it was good to stand up for civil rights and to fight
for integration. I thought the lasting impact crippled Black communities just
as much, if not more, than it helped. I know this might seem odd but allow me
to explain my stance.
First, it embraced the "forbidden fruit" mindset that going to
businesses that didn't want to serve Black Americans to get no or limited
service that was most time inadequate at best was a good thing, and it wasn't.
Getting very bad service and tainted food just to say "they were
there." They "had" to have that particular product or go to that
particular place. You see the remnants of that today by people wanting to go
places or buy things that they really can't afford just to keep up with
appearances.
Third, as the number of Black businesses decreased there was a massive shift in Black American spending practices. Because there were no more Black businesses there were no more recycling of dollars in the Black community, people sought to go out to these more mainstream businesses whose prices were increased just based on the color of one's skin. So Black Americans' money wasn't going as far as it did in the past.
I could go on and on but you see my point. While I think they meant well to be taken seriously in the Sit-Ins to combat discrimination, it had tremendously detrimental consequences. People are still trying to recover from those events back then today. But others are still happily trying to keep up with appearances. If you have anymore questions or if I can help in any way please let me know.