The Nashville Sit-ins began on this day in 1960 when 124 students protesting segregation walked into downtown Nashville stores and were refused service at their lunch counters.

The Nashville Sit-ins were part of a nonviolent direct action campaign to end racial segregation at lunch counters in downtown Nashville, Tennessee. The first group sat in the stores for two hours and then left without incident, but the act kicked off months of civil rights protests in Nashville.

The sit-in campaign was coordinated by the Nashville Student Movement and the Nashville Christian Leadership Council, and was notable for its early success and its emphasis on disciplined non-violence in the face of harassment and assault by counter-protesters.

The Nashville Sit-ins, along with the Greensboro Sit-ins, became part of a broader, national movement of civil disobedience against discriminatory policies. The Nashville Sit-ins ended in victory on May 10th, when six downtown stores began serving black customers for the first time.