"I never felt any cold feet": How age, gender, and family background shaped the sit-in movement in Henderson, Kentucky

The sit-in movement has often been portrayed in popular culture as a Deep South phenomenon with a majority of participants being college-educated males. This project provides a counter narrative by exploring the sit-in movement in the border town of Henderson, Kentucky, located less than ten miles from the Indiana border. The year 2013 marks the 50th anniversary of one of Henderson's major sit-in protests where the demonstrators were often female and as young as 13 years old. The participants' first-hand accounts allow us to understand how age, gender and family background shaped civil disobedience during a turbulent time in U.S. race relations.