22 April 1944: Thompsons cafeteria sit-in

22 April 1944: Thompsons cafeteria sit-in

From On This Day in Working Class History by Working Class History

April 22, 2026 · 1 min

About this episode

The episode discusses the sit-in demonstration by young Black students at Thompson's cafeteria in Washington DC on April 22, 1944, highlighting the impact of segregation and activism.

On this day, 22 April 1944, 200 young Black people, mostly students at Howard University, held a sit-in demonstration at Thompson's, a segregated restaurant in Washington DC – where Jim Crow laws were not in effect but segregation by custom existed. After effectively slashing the number of paying customers, the restaurant was ordered by its headquarters to begin serving Black customers. The University, in fear of losing federal grants, subsequently directed its students to cease direct action and Thompson's promptly restored segregation. One of the key organisers of the action was Pauli Murray, pictured, a young student and activist, who identified as part male and part female, and whose romantic relationships were with women. More information, sources and map: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/9444/thompson's-cafeteria-sit-in Our work is only possible because of support from you, our listeners on patreon . If you appreciate our work, please join us and access exclusive content and benefits at patreon.com/workingclasshistory . See all of our anniversaries each day, alongside sources and maps on the On This Day section of our Stories app…

Topics covered

  • civil rights
  • segregation
  • protest
  • history
  • activism

Keywords

  • sit-in
  • Thompsons cafeteria
  • segregation
  • Howard University
  • Pauli Murray
  • civil rights
  • activism
  • Washington DC

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Howard University

Places: Washington DC

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