Royal Ice Cream sit-in facts for kids

The Royal Ice Cream sit-in was a peaceful protest in Durham, North Carolina. It happened on June 23, 1957, when a group of Black protesters entered the Royal Ice Cream Parlor. They sat in the area meant only for white customers. Reverend Douglas E. Moore led this group. When asked to move, they refused and were arrested for being in a place they were not allowed. Their case went to court but they did not win.

This sit-in started important discussions within Durham's Black communities. They talked about the best ways to fight for equal rights. It also helped inspire future protests, like the famous Greensboro sit-ins. It encouraged civil rights leaders across the Southern United States to work together.

Why the Sit-in Happened

Rules of Segregation

In 1896, a big court case called Plessy v. Ferguson said that "separate but equal" public places were legal. This meant that Black and white people had to use different facilities. However, these separate places were almost always worse for Black people. This was especially true in the Southern states.

Durham's Unique Situation

Durham, North Carolina, was seen as a bit more open-minded than other Southern cities. Pauli Murray, a civil rights leader from Durham, said it was "more liberal than what you would expect." Black people in Durham had more chances, even in the city's many tobacco factories. Black leaders started their own businesses. They built a successful Black neighborhood called the Hayti District. It had its own stores, theaters, restaurants, and even a hospital.

But, like most of the South, Jim Crow laws were still strong in Durham. These laws caused segregation, leading to poorer facilities and housing for Black people. They also had fewer job opportunities. Black and white neighborhoods were often separated by railroad tracks. The living conditions in these areas were very different.

Push for Change in Durham

The fight against segregation in Durham grew stronger with the Durham Committee on Negro Affairs (DCNA). This group started in 1935. In the 1930s and 1940s, the DCNA helped more Black people register to vote. They also worked to create more job chances and support Black candidates for local government roles.

However, after World War II, many young Black people felt that progress had slowed down. They were often forced into lower-paying jobs. This younger generation also felt that the DCNA was too slow and careful in its approach. Louis E. Austin, editor of The Carolina Times, a Black newspaper, wrote that the DCNA was becoming "too soft and too compromising." He called for "new blood, new faces and new ideas."

Reverend Moore's Actions

Reverend Douglas E. Moore was a pastor at Asbury Temple United Methodists Church. He was very active in the desegregation movement in Durham. Before the sit-in, he asked the City Council to end segregation at the Durham Public Library and the Carolina Theater. On June 13, 1957, he and his family tried to enter the all-white Long Meadow Park swimming pool. They were not allowed in. He immediately complained to city officials, but it didn't help.

How Churches Helped the Movement

Reverend Moore studied at Boston University. He was a classmate of Martin Luther King Jr.. Moore believed that churches were very important for organizing political movements within Black communities. He wrote to King in 1956, suggesting a group that would use "the power of nonviolence."

Sociologist Aldon Morris agreed, saying that the church was "the institutional vanguard of a mass based black movement." Before the Royal Ice Cream Sit-in, leaders like Moore started forming groups. They wanted to create a national movement. They used churches as their meeting places. They also trained young activists to be "professional" non-violent protesters. Gordon Carey, one of Moore's fellow activists, noted that they went "directly to the movement oriented churches." These churches were chosen because they were "where the protest activities were being planned and organized."

In 1957, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) asked religious leaders in the South to organize their church members and communities for protests. Around this time, Rev. Moore gathered a group of young activists called "ACT." This group included the people who took part in the Royal Ice Cream Sit-in. They met on Sunday afternoons at Moore's church, Asbury Temple United Methodist Church. They discussed how to challenge Jim Crow laws.

The Sit-in and Court Case

The Protest at Royal Ice Cream

On June 23, 1957, around 6:45 PM, Rev. Moore led seven people from his Sunday meeting to the Royal Ice Cream Parlor. It was located nearby at 1000 N. Roxboro Street. The group entered through the back door and sat in the area meant for white customers. They asked to be served.

A worker named David Champion asked them to move to the section for Black customers. Moore asked to speak to the manager. The owner, Louis Coletta, then appeared. He told the group to either move or leave. When they refused, Coletta called the police. One person left before the police arrived. Police Lieutenant Wallace Upchurch and other officers arrested the remaining seven. This group became known as "the Royal Seven." They were Mary Elizabeth Clyburn, Vivian Jones, Virginia Williams, Claude Glenn, Jesse W. Gray, Melvin Willis, and Rev. Moore.

The Court Trials

The next day, the protesters were found guilty of being in a place they were not allowed. They were each fined 10 dollars plus court costs. William A. ("Billy") Marsh Jr., a civil rights lawyer, represented them. They immediately appealed the case to the Durham County Superior Court.

On July 16, 1957, an all-white jury in the Superior Court agreed with the guilty verdict. They fined the protesters an extra 25 dollars each. The case then went to the State Supreme Court. On January 10, 1958, the protesters lost their case again. Associate Justice William B. Rodman said that the 14th Amendment stops states from discriminating. However, he said it "erects no shield against merely private conduct." The group then appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, but it refused to hear their case.

In 1957, Moore said the sit-in was not planned. He claimed, "we went to the ice cream parlor for ice cream, nothing else." However, later information suggests Moore might have chosen Royal Ice Cream on purpose. It was in a mostly Black neighborhood. He reportedly said, "I thought I could isolate them in the black community."

Local protests continued in Durham for years after the Royal Ice Cream incident. Rev. Moore and Floyd McKissick, a Black lawyer and community leader, often led these protests. They also began a six-year effort to integrate the parlor. This effort succeeded in 1963 when Coletta sold the business, and Royal Ice Cream became integrated.

What Happened Next

Debates in the Black Community

This first attempt at desegregation caused some disagreement within Durham's Black community. The young activists' actions challenged the careful balance that older leaders had tried to keep. Other groups, like Durham's Black Ministerial Alliance and the local NAACP, also criticized Moore's "radical" efforts. At that time, the local NAACP was focused on a long legal fight against school segregation. They worried that losing this case might set a bad legal example. They also feared it would take away their energy from other important issues. In short, many experienced Black leaders in Durham saw the sit-in as a risky act by a young outsider.

Despite these early doubts, the 1957 sit-in made the Durham Black community seriously discuss future protest strategies. The DCNA’s Economic Committee, led by Floyd McKissick and Nathaniel White Sr., talked about boycotting the ice cream parlor. However, some committee members questioned this idea. The owner, Louis Coletta, was an Italian immigrant. Even Rev. Moore, who supported the boycott, admitted that Coletta was "a member of a minority group." He thought the parlor might not be the best target. Even though the DCNA and other groups did not fully support the protesters, the sit-in made them rethink their roles in ending Jim Crow. It also encouraged community-wide Black boycotts and direct actions. These actions paved the way for later movements.

Youth Involvement and Success

This sit-in, even though it didn't win in court, inspired many young Black students. They continued to lead protests and challenge the more cautious older Black leaders. A group of high school NAACP members, mostly girls, organized regular pickets outside the Royal Ice Cream Parlor. Floyd McKissick guided them. These students did not want to wait for slow court processes. They also did not trust the quiet talks favored by some Black leaders.

The Royal Ice Cream Sit-in spread the idea of direct action among Durham's Black students. It encouraged many students to take part in real actions. These feelings helped future movements. The continued sit-ins and other peaceful protests eventually succeeded. In 1960, the Mayor's Committee on Human Relations announced a plan to desegregate Durham lunch counters. Durham officially became the seventh town in North Carolina to integrate its lunch counter service. Desegregation started slowly. Mass protests by Durham's Black community continued until 1963, when public places were finally desegregated.

Lasting Importance

The Royal Ice Cream sit-in greatly influenced how civil rights activists in the Southeast planned their actions in the 1960s. It showed that sudden, unplanned protests might not get much public attention. It also highlighted the difficulties Black protesters faced with the law and the media. For the Royal Seven, these challenges included an all-white jury and little news coverage. The Durham Morning Herald put the story on its front page. But the Raleigh News and Observer buried it inside. The Carolina Times didn't cover it until a month later. There was very little national news about the sit-in.

The sit-in also encouraged leaders to create "local movement centers." These centers helped civil rights activists across the Southeast work together. As mentioned, local activists like Moore had been forming "direct action" groups throughout the South in the 1950s. After the Royal Ice Cream Sit-in, Moore understood how important it was for these Black "movement centers" in the South to form alliances.

Moore and McKissick began planning a nationwide sit-in movement starting from Durham. They contacted activists in other "movement centers" in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia. They urged them to train students for sit-ins. After the Greensboro sit-ins, activists contacted others in different cities. They checked if they were ready for action. For example, on February 3, 1960, Moore spoke with Nashville civil rights activist James M. Lawson. He urged Lawson to speed up efforts to desegregate Woolworth. That spring, sit-ins took place across the Southern states. In 1960, Moore famously stated how serious the sit-in movement was: "If Woolworth and other stores think that this is just another panty raid, they haven’t had their sociologists in the field recently."

Remembering the Sit-in

The Royal Ice Cream Sit-in was largely overshadowed by the later Greensboro sit-ins. The Greensboro sit-ins are often seen as the nation's first. In 1979, people debated whether a marker for the first sit-in should be in Durham or Greensboro. Blackwell M. "Dog" Brogden, one of the lawyers from the 1957 court case, told the press that the marker belonged in Durham.

Starting in 1979, there were at least four attempts to put a marker at the Royal Ice Cream Parlor site. All of them failed at first. The North Carolina Highway Historic Marker Committee initially said the Royal Ice Cream Sit-in "did not have enough significance." However, Durham citizens felt the event was very important to their city's civil rights history. In 2007, the NC Highway Historic Marker Committee changed its mind. It recognized the sit-in's importance and approved a marker. That year, a marker was placed at the site. It reads: "ROYAL ICE CREAM SIT-IN: Segregation protest at an ice cream parlor on this site, June 23, 1957, led to court case testing dual racial facilities."