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The front cover of Sit-Ins, Drive-Ins and Uncle Sam

SIT-INs, drive-ins and uncle sam:

Coming of Age in the Era of Civil Rights and the Vietnam Draft

Rev up your engine, turn up your AM radio, and take a spin into the 1960s.

Cruise drive-in restaurants, park on the last row of drive-in theaters, and enjoy pop music along the way. Grab a front-row seat to the civil rights movement in Greensboro, NC and learn some interesting twists of history. But, if you are a male between 18 and 26, keep a watchful eye over your shoulder. You just might be next on Uncle Sam’s list for an invitation to Vietnam.

On your journey back in time, explore and ponder these questions and twists of history

WHY DID THE NATIONAL NAACP REFUSE TO SUPPORT THE WOOLWORTH’S SIT-INS THAT BEGAN ON FEBRUARY 1, 1960 IN GREENSBORO?
WHY WAS THE PHOTO OF THE FOUR STUDENTS WHO STAGED THE FIRST WOOLWORTH’S SIT-IN ON FEBRUARY 1, 1960 NOT PUBLISHED UNTIL TEN YEARS LATER, WHILE A PHOTO TAKEN ON FEBRUARY 2, DEPICTING ONLY TWO OF THE ORIGINAL PROTESTERS, BECAME THE MOST-PUBLISHED PHOTO OF THE MOVEMENT?
WHY DID A SIMILAR SIT-IN AT THE ROYAL ICE-CREAM PARLOR IN DURHAM, NC THREE YEARS EARLIER NOT ACHIEVE THE SUCCESS OF THE GREENSBORO WOOLWORTH’S SIT-INS?
WHICH AMERICAN UNIVERSITY HAS BEEN AWARDING DEGREES IN HAMBURGEROLOGY SINCE 1961?
BESIDES LOCKING AND UNLOCKING DOORS AT PLACES OF WORSHIP, WHAT WERE "CHURCH KEYS" USED FOR IN THE 1960s?
EVEN BEFORE THE BEATLES LANDED ON OUR SHORES AND APPEARED ON THE ED SULLIVAN SHOW IN 1964, ANOTHER BRITISH INVASION WAS ALREADY TAKING PLACE. WHAT WAS IT?
WHAT GENRE OF MUSIC FROM THE 1960s DID NOVELIST PAT CONROY CALL "THE HOLIEST SOUND ON EARTH?"
WHAT RADIO PERSONALITY OF THE 1960s ENCOURAGED HIS LISTENERS TO "LAY YOUR HANDS ON THE RADIO AND TURN MY KNOBS?"
AFTER KENNY WASHINGTON AND WOODY STRODE BECAME THE FIRST BLACK PLAYERS IN THE NFL IN 1946, WHY DID STRODE SAY, “INTEGRATING THE NFL WAS THE LOW POINT OF MY LIFE. IF I HAVE TO INTEGRATE HEAVEN, I DON’T WANT TO GO”?
AFTER JACKIE ROBINSON BROKE THE COLOR BARRIER IN MAJOR LEAGE BASEBALL IN 1947, HOW LONG DID IT TAKE FOR EVERY MAJOR LEAGUE TEAM TO HAVE AT LEAST ONE AFRICAN AMERICAN PLAYER ON ITS ROSTER?
WHY DID CHILDREN IN THE 1950s HAVE THEIR FEET X-RAYED WHEN BUYING A PAIR OF SHOES?
HOW WAS THE COCA-COLA BOTTLE USED AS A GAMBLING DEVICE UNTIL THE 1960s?
AFTER THE NAACP HELD A FUNERAL FOR HIM IN DETROIT IN 1944, COMPLETE WITH BURIAL, HOW DID JIM CROW CRAWL BACK OUT OF HIS GRAVE?
HOW DID THE N-WORD DO THE SAME AFTER A SIMILAR FUNERAL IN 2007?
WHY DID SOME YOUNG MEN IN THE 1960s ALMOST STARVE THEMSELVES TO DEATH, WHILE OTHERS GORGED THEMSELVES INTO A STATE OF OBESITY?
IN 1957, MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR., ALONG WITH BILLY GRAHAM, SPOKE TO THOUSANDS AT MADISON SQUARE GARDEN IN NEW YORK CITY. WHY DID HE HAVE A HARD TIME FINDING ANYWHERE TO SPEAK IN GREENSBORO, NC THE FOLLOWING YEAR?
WHY WAS BILLY GRAHAM, AMERICA’S MOST RENOWNED AND CELEBRATED EVANGELIST, DENIED THE RIGHT TO SPEAK IN COLUMBIA, SC THAT SAME YEAR?
WHO WERE AURELIA BROWDER, SUSIE McDONALD, CLAUDETTE COLVIN AND MARY LOUISE SMITH AND WHY ARE THEY NOT AS WELL-REMEMBERED AS ROSA PARKS?
HOW DID PRESIDENT KENNEDY ENTICE YOUNG MEN TO GET MARRIED AND HAVE CHILDREN?
HOW DID PRESIDENT JOHNSON LURE HUNDREDS OF YOUNG MEN TO LAS VEGAS AND RENO TO GET MARRIED ON AUGUST 26, 1965?
WHY WERE THERE MORE KU KLUX KLANSMEN IN NORTH CAROLINA IN THE 1960s THAN IN ALL OF THE REST OF THE SOUTHERN STATES COMBINED?
IN THE EARLY 1960s, a 10-FOOT-TALL CHAIN LINK FENCE BLOCKED THE HIGHWAY AND A LONG ORANGE ROPE DIVIDED THE BEACHES BETWEEN ALL-WHITE CRESCENT BEACH, SC AND THE NORTHERN BOUNDARY OF ALL-BLACK ATLANTIC BEACH, SC. SIMILAR BARRICADES ISOLATED ATLANTIC BEACH ON ITS SOUTHERN BORDER FROM ALL-WHITE WINDY HILL BEACH. WHY, IN 2021, DOES A STRUGGLING ATLANTIC BEACH CONTINUE TO BE CUT OFF FROM THE BOOMING ECONOMIES OF ITS NEIGHBORS?
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