Greensboro. North Carolina

Greensboro (formerly Greensborough) is the third-largest city in North Carolina and the county seat and largest city in the Piedmont Triad metro region. Greensboro's population was at 277,080 in 2012. Three major interstate highways (Interstate 85, Interstate 40 and Interstate 73) were built to intersect in Greensboro. Greensboro was established on land that was "an unbroken forest with thick undergrowth of huckleberry bushes, that bore a finely flavored fruit." Three north-south streets (Greene, Elm, Davie) were built intersecting three east-west streets (Gaston, Market, Sycamore). 

In the postwar period, blacks fought in North Carolina and across the South for the ability to exercise their constitutional rights. College students from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical College (A&T), made Greensboro a hub for protests and change. In 1960, four black college students sat down at an "all-white" Woolworth's diner, refusing to leave after being denied service, even after already making purchases in other areas of the store. They showed receipts, asking why their money was good elsewhere in the store but not there. Hundreds joined in, and the sit-in lasted several months. This kind of protest quickly spread throughout the South, leading to the desegregation of lunch counters and other facilities at Woolworth's and other department stores.