Charles Bess Saw Lunch-Counter Sit-Ins 60 Years Ago; Here's What He Thinks of Black Lives Matter
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Interview by Briana Conner
This article was originally published with Hearst Television. Click here to see the video.
Sixty-one years ago this month, four North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University first-year students walked through downtown Greensboro, North Carolina, and “sat in” at the Woolworth’s whites–only lunch counter and asked to be served.
The students refused to leave even after they were denied service—and stayed until the store closed.
Behind the counter, 23-year-old Charles Bess was working at the restaurant as a busboy during the sit-ins.
Bess is now 83 years old and still reflects on what happened in Woolworth’s when he was a young man, and what he believes still needs to happen today.
“Every time, when a waitress would tell them, ‘We don’t serve colored people here,’ they ignored it and kept on sitting and asking for coffee,” Bess recalled in an interview with station WXII. “I never heard them asking for nothing else but coffee. Everyone was looking at each other wondering what was happening. I was standing close by and I wondered what was going on.”
Bess was proud of what unfolded that day.
Across the nation, there is another generation of young people coming forward, displaying courage in the continued fight for equality.
Thousands gathered in streets across Greensboro and Winston-Salem, and all over the United States, last summer as part of the Black Lives Matter movement.
“The Black man has moved forward, but in some areas still haven’t got there,” Bess said. “I would tell them that we can’t accomplish nothing by being violent, but we can accomplish by praying together and doing what’s right.”
Bess still lives in Greensboro and said he goes to the International Civil Rights Museum regularly to talk with visitors about the sit-in movement.
“I’m glad to be alive to the story of the sit-in movement,” he said. “I just praise the Lord that I’m here to tell the story.”
Turn Inspiration to Action
Consider donating to the National Association of Black Journalists. You can direct your dollars to scholarships and fellowships that support the educational and professional development of aspiring young journalists.
Support The National Caucus & Center on Black Aging. Dedicated to improving the quality of life of older African Americans, NCCBA's educational programs arm them with the tools they need to advocate for themselves.
This story was created as part of Lift Every Voice, in partnership with Lexus. Lift Every Voice records the wisdom and life experiences of the oldest generation of Black Americans by connecting them with a new generation of Black journalists. The oral history series is running across Hearst magazine, newspaper, and television websites around Juneteenth 2021. Go to oprahdaily.com/lifteveryvoice for the complete portfolio.
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