WICHITA, Kan. — Wichita officials appeared poised to name the city’s newest library after a Black man who led a sit-in that helped end racial segregation in the city.
The Library Board is recommending naming the library after Ronald Walters, who became a national civil rights leader and author. The Wichita Eagle reports the City Council is expected to accept the recommendation on Tuesday. In 1958, Walters organized a sit-in at the Dockum Drug Store in Wichita, which served Blacks only carryout food. After three weeks, the manager relented and began serving the Black customers.
The NAACP said it was the first youth-led sit-in in the nation to achieve the desired results.
