Williamston was a hotspot of the Civil Rights Movement and Green Memorial Church was the epicenter. Protesters made it their goal to desegregate schools and the public library. Organizing the efforts were a local woman, Sarah Small, and Golden Frinks of Edenton, a friend of Martin Luther King Jr.

Remarkably, the non-violent protests continued for 32 consecutive days beginning on June 30, 1963, involving as many as 400 people, many of them children and teenagers, singing and praying, before marching uptown, about a half-mile to the courthouse.