Sit-in

Martin Luther King was a Christian minister who became a leading advocate of non-violent direct action. He wanted campaigners to confront injustice through peaceful marches, sit-ins and boycotts rather than retaliatory violence. The Southern Christian Leadership Conference, or SCLC, helped organise these campaigns and supported efforts to increase Black voter registration.

Sit-ins targeted segregated lunch counters; the Freedom Riders tested whether desegregation rulings were being obeyed on interstate bus journeys—journeys between states—and in bus terminals. Both methods made discrimination visible rather than allowing it to continue unchallenged.