“The Dockum Drugstore Sit-In”
FREE EVENT:
Lunch: Gumbo Soup, Drinks and Dessert provided by Great Western Dining.
Visitors may bring their own lunch.
Seeking racial equity and an end to segregation, Wichita’s Black students organized and staged a
sit-in in 1958 at Wichita’s Dockum Drugstore. Long denied entry into the city’s movie theaters and
restaurants, students exercised their right to peacefully protest over a three-week period at the
popular lunch counter. What transpired, how it ended, and the lasting impact it had on race
relations in the city is the focus of this talk. More broadly, the talk will explore how these
types of protests transformed the struggle for racial equity in America.
Dr. Prisca Barnes is the founder of Storytime Village, Inc., a nonprofit organization in Wichita
that promotes reading among low-income children and families. She is a passionate advocate for
equity in education and literacy.
“The Dockum Drugstore Sit-In” is part of Humanities Kansas’s Speakers Bureau and “21st Century
Civics,” a collection of resources that invite Kansans to participate in community discussions and
learn more about the history of American democracy and the shared responsibilities of citizenship.
“21st Century Civics” is made possible with support from “A More Perfect Union: America at 250,” an
initiative of the National Endowment for the Humanities.
