Periphery

The February 1960 sit-in by four young college freshmen at the Woolworth's lunch counter in Greensboro, North Carolina, galvanized the civil rights movement in the United States. In the process, ordinary citizens from both the black and white communities in Greensboro—and across America—were forced to grapple with their beliefs about race and justice. Utilizing both dramatic and comic scenes, monologues, and dramatized news reports, Periphery focuses on ordinary citizens—particularly two families, one black and one white—whose lives are touched by the changing world around them. The central stories in Periphery are not those of the courageous "Greensboro Four" but instead include those who stand witness to the historic events in this Southern city—those on the periphery of the sit-in demonstration—who must choose between continuing the injustices of the past or moving forward toward a more just America.