Which protest tactic involved occupying public spaces to protest segregation, often in restaurants or stores?

• A. Freedom Riders
• B. NAACP
• C. March on Washington
• D. Sit-Ins

Answer: (D)

Sit-ins involve occupying public spaces, like a restaurant or store, and staying until service is desegregated. This nonviolent direct action exposed the injustice of segregation by making it uncomfortable for businesses to uphold discriminatory policies and by drawing wide attention from the public and media. A pivotal moment came when student activists sat at a segregated lunch counter in Greensboro, North Carolina, in 1960, sparking similar actions across the South and helping push desegregation of public facilities. Other options describe different tactics or movements: Freedom Riders challenged segregation in interstate travel by riding buses into the South; the March on Washington was a large peaceful demonstration for civil and economic rights; the NAACP is a civil rights organization that employed legal challenges and organized campaigns, rather than a single tactic of occupying spaces.