Lunch counter in special museum exhibit

GREENSBORO, N.C. - The Woolworth‘s lunch counter that became a symbol of the nation‘s civil rights movement in 1960 is part of an exhibit of national icons at the Smithsonian‘s National Museum of American History. The collection is called "America‘s most singular sensations" in the current issue of Smithsonian magazine. The exhibit of 156 objects was selected from more than 3 million items. The counter came from the former store in downtown Greensboro where four students at North Carolina A&T State University staged a sit-in to integrate the whites-only restaurant. The sit-in movement soon spread across the nation. Although the lunch counter went on display in 1995 at the Museum of American History, it was put into the smaller exhibit when the history museum closed for renovations in September.

Read More