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Commemorative Landscapes of North Carolina
Commemorative Landscapes of North Carolina
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Source:  Sit-Ins for Civil Rights, Asheboro. Photo by D. and T. Marsteller

  • Monument Name

    Sit-Ins for Civil Rights, Asheboro

  • Type

    Plaque

    Marker

  • Subjects

    African American Monuments

    Civil Rights

  • City

    Asheboro

  • County

    Randolph

  • Description

    The sit-in memorial is a lectern shaped block of granite less than two-feet high with a bronze plaque attached to the lectern face. Incised above the plaque is the city of Asheboro logo.

  • Inscription

    SIT-INS FOR CIVIL RIGHTS / ON JANUARY 27, 1964, 60 AFRICAN / AMERICANS WERE ARRESTED AT HOP’S / BAR-B-QUE AND THE LITTLE CASTLE / SANDWICH SHOP, PART OT THE / SUNSET THEATER. THESE SIT-INS WERE / PART OF THE NATIONAL DRIVE FOR / INTEGRATION AND CIVIL RIGHTS.

  • Dedication Date

    August 24, 2013

  • Decade

    2010s

  • Geographic Coordinates

    35.705900 , -79.816810 View in Geobrowsemap pin

  • Supporting Sources

      "Crowds Gather in Asheboro to Commemorate Civil Rights,” FOX8 WGHP, (High Point, NC), August 24, 2013, (accessed March 18, 2024) Link

      Whatley, L. McKay. “The Asheboro Sit-Ins,” Notes on the History of Randolph County, NC, Wordpress.com. (accessed March 18, 2024) Link

      “Sit-ins For Civil Rights,” The Historical Marker Database, HMdb.org, (accessed March 13, 2024) Link

  • Public Site

    Yes

  • Materials & Techniques

    Bronze, granite

  • Sponsors

    City of Asheboro and NAACP

  • Monument Cost

    $2,500

  • Subject Notes

    The marker commemorates the actions of 120 African Americans that participated in the January 27, 1964 civil rights sit-in at the Hop’s Bar-B-Que and Sunset Theater in Asheboro. Sixty of the protesters were arrested by police and taken to jail with about half of those arrested being juveniles. All were charged with violating a local ordinance that prohibited blocking the doorway to a business. Those charged were all found guilty but received a prayer for judgment in lieu of jail time.

    This sit-in and others that continued into February came four years after the sit-ins at the Woolworth lunch counter in Greensboro. The Greensboro protests were successful in seeing the city desegregate its eating establishments. Despite the protests it appears that Asheboro establishment remained segregated into the late 1960’s.

  • Location

    The memorial is located at the corner of Sunset Avenue and North Church Street in Asheboro, NC. The marker is near the curb facing the Hops Bar-B-Que building.

  • Landscape

    The memorial marker stands on the sidewalk near an intersection.

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