The late 1950s and early 1960s were a time of profound growth for the civil rights movement in the United States. Although racial segregation in the public schools had been outlawed in 1954, the ruling applied only to this one category of discriminatory practice in U.S. society. But it furthered within the African-American community the anticipation of broader changes. It was in this climate that the student sit-in demonstrations of the early 1960s were born. The technique of the sit-in was simple—African Americans occupying "whites only" seats in racially segregated establishments—but this new type of student activism galvanized established civil rights organizations, brought about the creation of new ones, and generated support for the civil rights movement among many new segments of the populace.

Initiated by four students of the North Carolina Agricultural and Technical College, the first sit-in occurred at a lunch counter in February 1960. Sit-ins then spread rapidly through the southern U.S., involving over 70,000 participants by August 1961. The sit-ins provided an important model for nonviolent protest and showed students that they could affect the political process. The influence of these demonstrations on the determination of the student activists was particularly visible in two events: the formation of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, and the birth of a second form of sit-ins called Freedom Rides.

The formation of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee followed the first sit-in by just a few months and not only solidified student involvement in the civil rights movement but also placed students in leadership roles for the first time. It operated independently of other civil rights organizations and relied on strong local leadership, helping to transform student involvement from participation in small-scale protests into a sustained effort to challenge discrimination throughout the U.S. But the development that marked the clearest turning point for the civil rights movement was the Freedom Rides. The goal of the rides, which were organized in 1961 by the already well-established Congress of Racial Equality, was to challenge segregation through the occupation of "whites only" seats on interstate buses and in facilities at the various terminals at which the buses stopped. Because the rides inspired violent reprisals in some regions, the U.S. government began using force to protect the safety of the Freedom Riders; this was the first government action taken explicitly in support of the cause of desegregation outside the public schools. The Freedom Rides thus helped take the civil rights movement to a new level by underscoring to the U.S. government, and to U.S. society generally, the harsh realities of the segregation system, and by providing, for students and their elders alike, examples of the methods they might use to achieve a more equal society.