There are moments in history that should not
be forgotten but sometimes it is hard to understand why those moments have
an effect on our lives.
Sixty years ago, this month, four black university students in
Greensboro, North Carolina sat down at a segregated lunch counter. The students
became known as the Greensboro Four and they were the catalyst for sit-ins across
the South, challenging businesses who refused service to black patrons or made
them sit in a specific area away from the white people. Less than two weeks
later, Nashville students followed the Greensboro Four, and began their own sit-ins.
This historic moment marked the beginning of a peaceful movement across the South.
Flash forward to today, and all people no matter race, gender
or sexual orientation cannot be denied service or education because of their
skin colors or beliefs. There is no moment when we cannot go to a
restaurant with our friends and enjoy a dinner together no matter the color of
the skin. The Greensboro sit-in created a kick start to college communities sending
a message of unity all across the South.
I say it is important to look back at these historic moments,
not only for what they change in history but also because, although they seem
larger than our everyday lives, or “don’t concern us,” most of the time
there is some piece of these historic moments that connect to home.
For example, the topic I brought up earlier inspired a
research dive for me.
When I realized last week was the 6oth anniversary of
these sit-ins and when I learned that sit-ins also occurred in Nashville,
I thought about the idea of not feeling connected to historic moments in
life when they happened at a distance.
In October 1960, Wilma Rudolph, a Clarksville
resident, who won three gold medals at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome,
was welcomed home to Clarksville in the first publicly integrated municipal
event.
It just made me think about the fact that we often brush
aside moments in history because they might not relate to us. But just like
with localizing a story, there are more connections to large moments in history
than meets the eye.
We live in a time where we continue to work towards equality
that couldn’t have been imagined 60 years ago, and that is enough to stop
saying, “It doesn’t affect me, so why should I care?”