New Museum to Honor Power of a Sit-In Protest

Also: A question from India about what is the favorite winter sport in America. And music by Jason Mraz. Transcript of radio broadcast:

28 January 2010

DOUG JOHNSON:

Welcome to AMERICAN MOSAIC in VOA Special English.

(MUSIC)

I'm Doug Johnson.

This week on our program we listen to music from singer/songwriter Jason Mraz.

And answer a question about Americans' favorite winter sports .

But first, a report on the anniversary of the Greensboro sit-in and the opening of a civil rights museum to honor it.

(MUSIC)

Greensboro Sit-In

DOUG JOHNSON:

Monday marks the fiftieth anniversary of a very famous civil rights protest in the United States --- the Greensboro sit-in. On February first, nineteen sixty, four black college students took seats at a restaurant counter in Greensboro, North Carolina. The counter was for white people only.

The young men were refused service but they refused to leave. They returned to the store with other protesters day after day. Their sit-ins brought police and national attention. Now a new museum opens to remember and celebrate the event. Faith Lapidus has our story.

FAITH LAPIDUS:

Their names were Joseph McNeil, Franklin McCain, Ezell Blair, Jr. and David Richmond. They were first-year students at North Carolina A&T University. The young men asked for coffee at the F.W. Woolworth store lunch counter. They were asked to leave the store. The young men refused. They remained seated until the store closed.