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Kids Who Fought for Change

Sixty years ago, a group of kids helped end segregation in Oklahoma City.

This is an edited version of an article that originally appeared in the February 20, 2017, issue of Scholastic News Edition 4. 

This is an edited version of an article that originally appeared in the February 20, 2017, issue of Scholastic News Edition 4. 

Bettmann/Getty Images (Katz Drug Store); Courtesy of Ayanna Najuma (Ayanna Today)

Ayanna Najuma sits at the Katz Drug Store lunch counter in 1958; Ayanna today (inset) 

On a hot August day in 1958, 7-year-old Ayanna Najuma and her friends walked into the Katz Drug Store in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. They sat down at the lunch counter and tried to order food, but the waitresses ignored them. The kids sat there for hours. 

No one would wait on Ayanna and her friends for one reason: they were Black Americans. This was one of many restaurants in the South that refused to serve Black people at the time.

Ayanna and the 12 other kids knew they wouldn’t be served. But they actually weren’t there to eat. They were there to stand up against injustice. They were working to end segregation—the practice of keeping Black people separate from White people. With some help from adults, the kids held a protest called a sit-in.

“We said to each other, ‘We want a change. Why wait? Let’s do it now,’” Ayanna recalls.

It was a hot August day in 1958. Seven-year-old Ayanna Najuma and her friends walked into the Katz Drug Store in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. They sat down at the lunch counter. They tried to order food. But the waitresses ignored them. The kids sat there for hours. 

No one would wait on Ayanna and her friends for one reason: they were Black Americans. This was one of many restaurants in the South that refused to serve Black people at the time.

Ayanna and the 12 other kids knew they wouldn’t be served. But they actually weren’t there to eat. They were there to stand up against injustice. They were working to end segregation. That’s the practice of keeping Black people separate from White people. With some help from adults, the kids held a protest called a sit-in.

“We said to each other, ‘We want a change. Why wait? Let’s do it now,’” Ayanna recalls.

Troubled Times

Jim McMahon/Mapman®

Growing up, Ayanna was used to the unjust treatment of Black people. Racism has a long history in the U.S., beginning with slavery. Even after slavery was banned in the U.S. in 1865, other forms of racism continued. Black Americans were still treated cruelly. One example of this mistreatment was segregation. Such forms of mistreatment were common, and legal, in many states, especially in the South.  

For kids like Ayanna, life with segregation was all they knew. But in 1958, while on a bus trip to New York City, Ayanna and her friends noticed that life was different for Black people in the North. There were no signs that designated water fountains “For Whites Only.” Black people and White people ate at the same restaurants and lived in the same neighborhoods.

The kids wanted Oklahoma City to be more like New York City, so they decided to do something about it. Many Americans took similar actions against racism in the 1950s and 1960s. These protests were a big part of what became known as the civil rights movement. 

Growing up, Ayanna was used to the unjust treatment of Black people. Racism has a long history in the U.S., beginning with slavery. Slavery was banned in the U.S. in 1865. But other forms of racism continued. Black Americans were still treated cruelly. One example of this mistreatment was segregation. Such forms of mistreatment were common, and legal, in many states. That was especially true in the South.  

For kids like Ayanna, life with segregation was all they knew. But in 1958, Ayanna and her friends took a bus trip to New York City. Ayanna noticed that life was different for Black people in the North. There were no signs that designated water fountains “For Whites Only.” Black people and White people ate at the same restaurants. They also lived in the same neighborhoods.

The kids wanted Oklahoma City to be more like New York City. So they decided to do something about it. Many Americans took similar actions against racism in the 1950s and 1960s. These protests were a big part of what became known as the civil rights movement. 

Kid Power

On the first day of the sit-in, Ayanna and the other kids sat at the lunch counter until the restaurant closed for the night. No one ever took their order. 

So the kids went back the next day. That’s when the situation grew tense. Some White customers yelled at the kids, and others threw ketchup on them. Through it all, the kids remained peaceful and polite. 

During the third day of their sit-in, the kids got good news. The owners of the store agreed to start serving Black customers at the lunch counter.

“It was a big deal,” Ayanna remembers. “It was a slam dunk to be able to sit there and have a hamburger and Coke.”

Ayanna and her friends weren’t done, though. For six years, they took part in sit-ins at other restaurants in Oklahoma. One by one, many of the restaurants became integrated. Their last sit-in took place in 1964. That same year, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act. The law made segregation illegal throughout the U.S. Ayanna and the other kids were proud to do their part to bring about change in their hometown—and their nation.

“Even though I was little, my voice was just as important as everyone else’s voice,” Ayanna says.

On the first day of the sit-in, Ayanna and the other kids sat at the lunch counter. They stayed until the restaurant closed for the night. No one ever took their order. 

So the kids went back the next day. That’s when the situation grew tense. Some White customers yelled at the kids. Others threw ketchup on them. Through it all, the kids remained peaceful and polite. 

During the third day of their sit-in, the kids got good news. The owners of the store agreed to start serving Black customers at the lunch counter.

“It was a big deal,” Ayanna remembers. “It was a slam dunk to be able to sit there and have a hamburger and Coke.”

Ayanna and her friends weren’t done, though. For six years, they took part in sit-ins at other restaurants in Oklahoma. One by one, many of the restaurants became integrated. Their last sit-in took place in 1964. That same year, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act. The law made segregation illegal throughout the U.S. Ayanna and the other kids were proud to do their part to bring about change in their hometown—and their nation.

“Even though I was little, my voice was just as important as everyone else’s voice,” Ayanna says.

Sitting Down to Take a Stand

Granger, NYC/The Granger Collection

In 1960, another sit-in captured the nation’s attention. That year, four college students staged a sit-in at the lunch counter at a store called Woolworth’s in Greensboro, North Carolina. This sit-in grew to include 300 people. It went on for six months. It was reported on national TV. The protest led Woolworth’s to integrate its lunch counters. The Greensboro sit-in became one of the key events of the civil rights movement.

Sitting Down to Take a Stand

Granger, NYC/The Granger Collection

In 1960, another sit-in captured the nation’s attention. That year, four college students staged a sit-in at the lunch counter at a store called Woolworth’s in Greensboro, North Carolina. This sit-in grew to include 300 people and went on for six months. It was reported on national TV. The protest led Woolworth’s to integrate their lunch counters. The Greensboro sit-in became one of the key events of the civil rights movement.

1. Why did Ayanna Najuma and her friends go into Katz Drug Store?

2. Which details from the article support the idea that life in the 1950s was different for Black people in the North than it was in the South? 

3. How did the first day of the sit-in differ from the second day? 

4. What does Ayanna mean when she says, “It was a slam dunk to be able to sit there and have a hamburger and Coke”? 

5. Based on her quotes in the article, what can you infer about how Ayanna feels about kid power?

1. Why did Ayanna Najuma and her friends go into Katz Drug Store?

2. Which details from the article support the idea that life in the 1950s was different for Black people in the North than it was in the South? 

3. How did the first day of the sit-in differ from the second day? 

4. What does Ayanna mean when she says, “It was a slam dunk to be able to sit there and have a hamburger and Coke”? 

5. Based on her quotes in the article, what can you infer about how Ayanna feels about kid power?

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