Clarence Harris
Clarence Lee Harris | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | January 18, 1905 Raleigh, North Carolina, U.S. |
| Died | July 14, 1999 (aged 94) |
| Alma mater | Trinity College |
Clarence Lee "Curly" Harris (January 18, 1905 – July 14, 1999) was the store manager at the F. W. Woolworth Company store in Greensboro, North Carolina, during the Greensboro sit-ins in 1960.[1]
Early life
Harris was born in
Career
From 1929 to 1933, Harris worked as assistant manager at the Durham Woolworth's. In 1933, he was transferred to the Harrisonburg, Virginia, store and promoted to store manager. He managed the Wilmington, North Carolina, store from 1937 to 1947, and the Raleigh store from 1947 to 1955, when he was transferred to the Greensboro, North Carolina store. He remained at the Greensboro store until his retirement in 1969.[1]
Greensboro sit-ins
On February 1, 1960,
On Monday, July 25, 1960, after nearly $200,000 (~$1.58 million in 2023) in losses due to the demonstrations, store manager Harris quietly integrated the lunch counter when he asked 3 black employees of the store to change out of work clothes into street clothes and order a meal at the counter. These were the first black customers to be served at the store's lunch counter. The event received little publicity.[3]
References
- ^ a b c Kaufman, Michael T. (July 15, 1999). "C. L. Harris, 94; Allowed Lunch Counter Sit-In". The New York Times.
- ^ "We Shall Overcome – F.W. Woolworth Building". National Park Service.
- ^ "Civil Rights Greensboro". University of North Carolina at Greensboro.