Chapel Hill Nine
1960 CE.
Shown on the map at 35.911°, -79.062°.
The Chapel Hill Nine were a group of nine African American high school students from Lincoln High School (Chapel Hill, North Carolina), who staged a sit-in at the Colonial Drugstore on February 28, 1960, during the Civil Rights Movement. Heavily inspired by another civil rights protest, the Greensboro sit-ins, the nine students challenged the segregation policy at the Colonial Drugstore by peacefully occupying seats at a whites-only lunch counter. The sit-in by the Chapel Hill Nine was one of the earliest protests for civil rights in the town's history and encouraged other desegregation efforts in Chapel Hill and beyond. Though the students were arrested and charged with trespassing, as well as fined $10, their actions drew public attention to the injustices of the Jim Crow Laws and inspired further activism within the community. Chapel Hill's segregation laws were removed with the passage of the Civil Rights Act in 1964. The Chapel Hill Nine's courage was later recognized by the town of Chapel Hill and the University of North Carolina through commemorative events, public memorials, and educational initiatives.
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