York County - McCrory's Civil Rights Sit-ins

This building, built in 1901, was occupied by McCrory's Five & Dime from 1937 to 1997. On February 12, 1960, black students from Friendship Jr. College in Rock Hill were denied service at the McCrory's lunch counter but refused to leave.

Their "sit-in" was one of the first of many calling attention to segregated public places in downtown Rock Hill. These protests lasted for more than a year. (Reverse) "FRIENDSHIP NINE" Many Rock Hill protesters were arrested, convicted, and fined.

On January 31, 1961, ten students from Friendship Jr. College were arrested when they refused to leave McCrory's. Nine would not pay their fines and became the first Civil Rights sit-in protesters in the nation to serve jail time.

This new "Jail No Bail" strategy by "the Friendship Nine" was soon adopted as the model strategy for the Freedom Rides of 1961. Erected by the Culture & Heritage Museums of York County and the City of Rock Hill, 2007.

Standards

• This indicator was developed to promote inquiry into how the lifestyles of those living in capitalist countries differed from those living in communist countries. This indicator was also designed to promote inquiry into how the rights of citizens differed in capitalist and communist countries.
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• 8-7 The student will demonstrate an understanding of the impact on South Carolina of significant events of the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries.
  • Changes that took place in the United States during the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries revitalized the economy and challenged traditional society and politics in South Carolina. To understand the response of South Carolina to these ch...
    • 8-7.2 Analyze the movement for civil rights in South Carolina, including the impact of the landmark court cases Elmore v. Rice and Briggs v. Elliot; civil rights leaders Septima Poinsette Clark, Modjeska Monteith Simkins, and Matthew J. Perry; the Sout...
• This indicator was designed to promote inquiry into military and economic policies during World War II, to include the significance of military bases in South Carolina. This indicator was also developed to foster inquiry into postwar economic developments and demographic changes, to include the immigration of Jewish refugees following the Holocaust.
  • This indicator was designed to foster inquiry into the role of South Carolina in the Modern Civil Rights Movement, to include the influence of court cases such as Briggs v. Elliot and Flemming v. South Carolina Electric and Gas. This indicator was als...