Mike Parker: Kinston was a leader in Civil Rights movement
When most of us think of the Civil Rights Movement in North Carolina, our minds go immediately to the sit-ins at Woolworth’s in Greensboro in the 1960s. We think of Dr. King’s speech “I Have a Dream” delivered on August 28, 1963, during the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.
Some may even think back to the 1954 U.S. Supreme Court decision of Brown vs. Board of Education that struck down “separate but equal” schooling for white and black students.
What few people understand is that Kinston was one of the earliest places where calls for Civil Rights took place in North Carolina. On Saturday, February 4th, the African American Heritage Commission of Kinston-Lenoir County unveiled a Civil Rights Trail Marker to recognize the bravery and determination of young Kinston citizens in their fight for our equal rights.” The sit-in occurred at the old Standard Drug Store #2 at the corner of Queen and Caswell streets in downtown Kinston.
A few weeks after the 1960 Greensboro sit-in, Sam Dove and his friends, Curtis Henderson and Thomas Henderson, staged a sit-in at Standard Drug #2. Inspired by the Greensboro events, the youths made a careful plan. With Thomas Henderson posted outside the building to serve as the look-out in case of trouble, Dove and Curtis Henderson, went into the drugstore and took a seat.
Dove excelled as a French student, and the pair used his fluency in French to their advantage. Dove introduced Curtis Henderson to the white waitress as an African diplomat from Washington. This subterfuge included Dove speaking French to Curtis Henderson who replied in gibberish. Then Dove “translated” Henderson's food order of eggs, bacon, and coffee to the waitress. The pair paid the bill and left the building.
That sit-in in 1960 was followed by another in February 1961 at Standard Drug #2. Annie Whitehead was a participant at the 1961 sit-in. She recalled a group of about 20 protesters marched to Standard Drug # 2. As they peered into the windows, they saw a group of white customers, all politically connected, were meeting. The students chose Standard Drug # 2 specifically because of its prominent role in Kinston politics, she added.
The sit-in began as youths Simeon White and William Cheeks rushed inside the lunch counter and claimed the only two vacant seats. Other members rushed to the front door. The hurried actions of the group caused anger and panic among the white patrons, many of whom ran out the back door.
The protesters sat at the counter, ordering and eating for about two hours. They were served and not asked to leave, Mrs. Whitehead said. The peaceful transition at Standard Drug # 2 occurred, in large measure, because store owner Henry Suddreth was willing to change policy.
However, we must never forget that these sit-ins came nearly a decade after Kinston students struck their first blow for equal rights during the Adkin Walkout.
On Nov. 20, 1951, 720 students walked out of Adkin High School to protest the inferior educational setting forced upon them. These students walked out when the school board ignored their concerns at the board meeting the evening of Nov. 19.
Concerns the students presented included: Adkin students had to pay $1.00 to take a typing class offered for free at the other schools; Adkin students had to use books discarded by Grainger High School; while Adkin students had to share a single microscope in its science class, each student at Grainger High had access to his or her own microscope; classrooms on the north side of Adkin had no blinds and broken windows had not been replaced.
The biggest grievance was the board’s refusal to allocate funds to replace the Adkin gym that had burned. Having no gym meant the basketball team had to play nearly all of its games on the road. The board claimed the school system had no money to build a gym for Adkin High even though that body had just allotted funds to build a new gym at Grainger High.
The walk-out announcement came at 9:10 a.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 20, 1951. Students from grades 7 through 12 quietly rose, exited the school, and marched toward and down Queen Street on a path that took them to a recreation center on East Bright Street. They carried signs that read “Freedom,” “Equal Rights,” and “Education.”
When they arrived at the recreation center, they reassembled as a group, and then went home. They did not return to school until the Monday after Thanksgiving, Nov. 26.
Within 18 months, the school board addressed most of their concerns – including building a new, state-of-the-art gym at Atkin High.
One interesting point of these early acts of civil disobedience was the students involved were young people. They saw the inequities and believed they deserved better. Their courage, both at the walk-out and sit-ins, struck blows for true equality.
Now markers stand as constant reminders of these initial blows struck for true equality.
Mike Parker is a columnist for the Neuse News. You can reach him at mparker16@gmail.com.
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