Ceremony honors Tampa’s historic Woolworth lunch counter sit-in participants 65 years later

FOX 13's Evan Axelbank reports.

TAMPA, Fla. - The City of Tampa hosted a ceremony on Thursday honoring the 65th anniversary of the historic Woolworth lunch counter sit-ins, which marked a breakthrough in the Civil Rights Movement.

Tampa's role in the Civil Rights Movement

The backstory:

On Feb. 29, 1960, dozens of students from Blake and Middleton high schools gathered at historic St. Paul A.M.E. Church, walked to Woolworth on Franklin Street downtown, and sat at the lunch counter.

Students participate in a sit-in at Woolworth on Franklin St.

They returned through the first week of March, and Mayor Julian B. Lane ordered the police to protect the students.

Tampa’s Path to Equality Part 4: The Sit-ins

Tampa's protests followed a strategic nonviolent approach that became known as the "Tampa Technique," which helped pave the way for integration.

Tampa's Path to Equality Part 5: The Breakthrough

This March, Stageworks Theatre plans to highlight the 1960 Tampa sit-ins with a production of "When the Righteous Triumph" at the Straz Center for the Performing Arts.

Historical marker commemorates the Civil Rights sit-in at the former F.W. Woolworth Store

Ceremony marks 65th anniversary

Surviving participants were in attendance at Thursday's event, which took place at the former F.W. Woolworth building in Tampa where the sit-ins took place.

During the ceremony, the Hillsborough County Commission and the City of Tampa issued proclamations declaring March 1 "Woolworth Sit-In Anniversary Day."

Pictured: Tampa Mayor Jane Castor with surviving participants of the 1960 lunch counter sit-ins in Tampa.

What they're saying:

"This is an honor for this community, for the mayor and the county to acknowledge that the work that was done by the ‘Courageous 40’ – that's what I've named us – is being recognized," said Arthenia Joyner, former Florida State Senator and sit-in participant.

"You took a stand by taking a seat," former U.S. Rep. Jim Davis said. "And you did so based on your steadfast conviction that we're not just all equal in the eyes of God, but we should be equal in the eyes of man."

"To make such a profound statement only armed with courage and conviction, that is a story that we should never, ever forget," Tampa Mayor Jane Castor said.

CLICK HERE:>>> Follow FOX 13 on YouTube

The Source: This story was written using information from the City of Tampa and previous FOX 13 News reports.

STAY CONNECTED WITH FOX 13 TAMPA: