hungry for a change
February 17, 2020 2:46 PM   Subscribe

The Man Behind The Counter In an iconic photo from 60 years ago, four young African American men sit at a Woolworth’s lunch counter and stare resolutely back at the photographer behind them. Behind the counter is a young busboy. His name was Charles Bess. Here is his story. By Sayaka Matsuoka
posted by bq (14 comments total) 57 users marked this as a favorite
 
Such a great story! I love Bitter Southerner, and this is a great example of why. I grew up with this picture and this story, but never once even thought about the man behind the counter. I'm so glad Bess gets his story told.
posted by hydropsyche at 3:00 PM on February 17, 2020 [5 favorites]


That was great- thank you for posting.
posted by I_Love_Bananas at 4:01 PM on February 17, 2020 [1 favorite]


Wow, how many times have I looked at that photo and not thought about the fact that the man behind the counter had a story of his own?

Thanks so much for sharing and for the reminder that I need to truly see and think about everyone involved in the big moments from our history.
posted by lord_wolf at 4:59 PM on February 17, 2020 [1 favorite]


This article is so optimistic I had to post it.
posted by bq at 5:15 PM on February 17, 2020 [3 favorites]


This is something I've always kind of idly wondered about and never looked into. Thanks for posting it.
posted by LobsterMitten at 6:00 PM on February 17, 2020


I really enjoyed this. Bess describing how excited he was really made the article. I liked that Mrs. Holt seemed maybe ok.
posted by medusa at 7:14 PM on February 17, 2020 [2 favorites]


This is great, thank you for posting.
posted by Dip Flash at 7:18 PM on February 17, 2020


That's brilliant. And that they kept the counter and the signs and everything! Also, those prices, my goodness.
posted by Joe in Australia at 7:33 PM on February 17, 2020 [1 favorite]


I hadn’t known about the Bitter Southerner. Thank you for hours of wonderful reading.
posted by sciencegeek at 3:44 AM on February 18, 2020 [2 favorites]


“She came to me and said, ‘Charles, said we are going to start serving colored folks here, but I want my employees to be the first ones to sit down and eat first,’” Bess says. “I had a good feeling about it. I knew that things were gonna change.”
That was kinda neat. Good on Mrs. Holt.
posted by notsnot at 6:26 AM on February 18, 2020 [7 favorites]


This is really interesting. Thanks!
Bess and three of his coworkers had been told by Mrs. Holt and upper management the day before that they would eat at the lunch counter the next day.
Occasionally, the amorality of corporations gives me hope that change can happen quickly. (With a hell of a lot of effort and sacrifice by individual activists.)
posted by eotvos at 6:26 AM on February 18, 2020 [1 favorite]


This is really neat -- thank you for posting.
posted by wicked_sassy at 8:26 AM on February 18, 2020


This article truly warmed my heart. We are all familiar with the accounts of the folks who were on the front lines of the Civil Rights Movement, but it's fascinating to hear the accounts of the passers-by and the people on the fringes. This quote truly resonated with me:

It wasn’t until he saw the A&T Four that it dawned on him that things could be different, Bess says.

“I just felt like that a change had to come when these four guys were sitting there,” he says.
posted by chara at 10:03 AM on February 18, 2020 [4 favorites]


Change is so often led by young people.
posted by tommasz at 11:38 AM on February 18, 2020 [3 favorites]


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