The Southern Student Movement: Year I

Students of social movements have frequently pointed out that movements pass through stages, and that these stages are useful in ordering the historical data of a movement and in understanding the processes involved.1 In surveying the history of the Southern Negro Student Movement (Sit-In Movement) during its initial year of existence, four stages can be isolated, and the historical data organized accordingly: (1) prehistory, (2) informal, (3) developing, and (4) institutionalized.