While the Woolworth’s lunch counter sit-in in Greensboro, N.C., in February 1960 was a pivotal moment in civil rights history, the first such action actually took place in Wichita.
Kauffman Museum at Bethel College will host Prisca Barnes, Wichita, for a presentation and discussion of “The Dockum Drugstore Sit-In,” Feb. 8 at 3 p.m. in the museum auditorium.
The first student-led lunch counter sit-in in the United States happened at the Dockum Drugstore in downtown Wichita, at 104 S. Broadway where the Ambassador Hotel now stands, in the summer of 1958.
Like many such businesses, the drugstore refused to serve Black people at the counter. Starting July 19, 1958, ten students from the Wichita NAACP Youth Council went in every day for two weeks, sat at the counter and attempted to place orders.
Barnes is a passionate advocate for equity and social justice who, in 2009, founded Storytime Village Inc., a nonprofit organization with a mission to serve low-income Kansas children and families, with a focus on reading and literacy as essential skills for helping children and young people accomplish their life goals.
She has published three children’s books, including People, Pride and Promise: The Story of the Dockum Sit-in.
This program is being held in conjunction with Kauffman Museum’s current special exhibition, “Voices of Conscience: Peace Witness in the Great War,” with parallel themes of nonviolent protest and dissent from the status quo.
“The Dockum Drugstore Sit-In” is free and open to the public, and is made possible by Humanities Kansas. Contact director Andi Schmidt Andres at asa@bethelks.edu for more information.
“Voices of Conscience” opened at the beginning of the fall 2025 semester, and will be at the museum through May 2026. Itlifts up World War I peace protesters, tells related stories of resistance, and suggests parallels to the culture of war, propaganda and violence in the world today.
Regular Kauffman Museum hours are Tues.-Fri. 9:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m., Sat.-Sun. 1:30-4:30 p.m., closed Mondays and major holidays. Admission to “Voices of Conscience” and the permanent exhibits – “Of Land and People,” “Mirror of the Martyrs” and “Mennonite Immigrant Furniture” – is $5 for adults, $3 for children ages 6-16, and free to Kauffman Museum members and children under 6. The museum store is open during regular museum hours. See kauffmanmuseum.org or the museum Facebook page for more information.
