Civil Rights

On July 2, 1960, African American citizens in Fredericksburg began direct action to bring about social and political change as state governments had ignored the 1954 U.S. Supreme Court decision striking down the concept of "separate but equal" and the broader civil rights movement was gaining momentum. Although protest marches, freedom rides, and voter registration drives brought violent backlash in some parts of the South, integrated local leadership helped Fredericksburg avoid similar confrontations. Sit-ins took place at W. T. Grant, F.W. Woolworth, and People's Service Drug Store, and the protests held firm until the affected businesses relented and integrated their lunch counters by late August. During the summer of 1960, local students staged a sit-in at the segregated lunch counter at F. W. Woolworth, while Jerine Mercer picketed in front of W.T. Grant and Gaye Todd protested the segregated lunch counter there. Community organizer Gladys Poles Todd recalled that the effort was not only to open counters but also to change attitudes, open new opportunities and doors, and gain the courage to test the legality of many injustices. These local actions were among the many steps that helped awaken the conscience of a nation committed in its 1776 creed to the principle that all men are created equal.

Fredericksburg, Virginia · United States