An Immediate Transformation
The small group politely asked for service, and of course, they were refused. The white waiter suggested that they head to the “stand-up counter” for a take-away order instead. After all, that was the policy for black customers. That’s when they pulled out their receipts and told the lady that they disagreed with her.
A Woolworth’s lunch counter in Chicago 1960. Source: Pinterest
“You do serve us here, you’ve served us already, and we can prove it. We’ve got receipts. We bought all these things here, and we just want to be served,” Franklin McCain remembered saying. McCain, who died in 2014 at the age of 73, spoke about living under segregation as a teenager, and how he was so dispirited, traumatized, and suicidal. He said how the experience of sitting down on that simple chrome stool and vinyl seat immediately transformed him.