Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee

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Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee

Abbreviation	SNCC
Formation	1960
Founder	Ella Baker
Type	Civil rights
Location	United States

The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) was one of the major civil rights organizations in the United States during the 1960s. It emerged from the student-led sit-ins at segregated lunch counters in Greensboro, North Carolina and other Southern cities. SNCC played a significant role in the Freedom Rides, the March on Washington, and the Freedom Summer campaign in Mississippi.

History

SNCC was founded in April 1960 by young activists, including John Lewis, Diane Nash, and Bernard Lafayette, with the guidance of veteran activist Ella Baker. The organization was established to coordinate and support direct-action campaigns against segregation and other forms of racial injustice.

Major Campaigns

Sit-ins

SNCC's first major campaign was the sit-in movement, which began in February 1960 when four African American students from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University sat at a segregated Woolworth's lunch counter in Greensboro, North Carolina. The sit-ins quickly spread to other cities, leading to the desegregation of many public facilities.

Freedom Rides

In 1961, SNCC participated in the Freedom Rides, organized by the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE). The Freedom Riders, both black and white, rode interstate buses into the segregated Southern United States to challenge the non-enforcement of the Supreme Court decisions which ruled that segregated public buses were unconstitutional.

Voter Registration

SNCC also focused on voter registration, particularly in the Deep South. The organization was instrumental in the Mississippi Freedom Summer project of 1964, which aimed to register African American voters in Mississippi. This campaign faced violent resistance, including the murder of three civil rights workers, James Chaney, Andrew Goodman, and Michael Schwerner.

March on Washington

SNCC played a key role in the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom in August 1963, where Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his famous "I Have a Dream" speech. SNCC chairman John Lewis also delivered a speech, which was initially considered too radical by some organizers but was eventually included in the program.

Legacy

SNCC's efforts were crucial in the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. The organization inspired a generation of young activists and left a lasting impact on the civil rights movement. However, by the late 1960s, internal divisions and external pressures led to its decline.

Related Pages

• Civil rights movement
• Freedom Riders
• March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom
• Mississippi Freedom Summer
• John Lewis (civil rights leader)
• Ella Baker
• Congress of Racial Equality
• Civil Rights Act of 1964
• Voting Rights Act of 1965