Several years ago, I was inspired by the image of Woolworth’s Lunch Counter, a seemingly harmless symbol of American freedom, a vessel for coming together for dialogue, a hub for nourishment of some kind.   But in the 60’s, that lunch counter became the object of great debate, of principled protest, as four young black men declared that they have the right to do something as fundamental and necessary to our humanity as eating a meal in public, a right that was challenged and fought by a fearful, ignorant, racist majority.   I am struck by its simplicity.   Not integrated schools, not interracial marriage, not religious freedom or economic equality or the right to participate in public discourse – they had to first fight for the basic right to show up in a public place and buy a sandwich.  Something so simple, yet we actually fought as a nation over whether these men had that seemingly basic fundamental right.  

Those men had to fight for the right to buy a sandwich.  

They had to fight for the right to sit down at a lunch counter and engage in conversation, over a meal, in a public place.   I honor Joseph McNeil, Franklin McCain, Ezell Blair, Jr. and David Richmond by creating this space – J’s Lunch Counter – as a place to dialogue, to share, to connect, a place to argue, to debate, to protest, a place to gather and celebrate.  It is a safe space for ideas to be shared and to be challenged, for people to learn and become engaged.   J’s Lunch Counter is a place where men and women come together for good, for growth, for progress.