How the Lunch Counter Became a Civil Rights Symbol
Segregation was on the menu until 1960
The lunch counter is a throwback to the days before fast-food joints dominated America. With its roots in the drug stores of the 1800s, lunch counters were common in five-and-dime (variety) stores in the 1920s.
But it was during the civil rights era that lunch counters gained their notoriety. Here’s how the lunch counter got its start and then turned into a civil rights symbol.
The lunch counter’s forerunner
In the United States, the lunch counter was an outgrowth of the drug store soda fountain.
Early drug stores, or apothecaries, served customers who visited to purchase medicines and various other sundries. Drug stores were a place to chat about local news, but folks didn’t stay for very long.
The soda fountain, introduced first in Europe and then in America in the early 1800s, offered an opportunity for druggists to keep customers in their stores. It seemed like a natural addition; druggists compounded medications, so it wasn’t a stretch for them to mix up sweet, exotic-looking liquid concoctions and serve them to children and adults alike.
