Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee
A youth-led civil rights organization that organized sit-ins, voter registration drives, and Freedom Rides, giving young people a powerful voice in the fight for equality.
View Teaching Bundle →
What Was the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee?
A youth-led civil rights organization that organized sit-ins, voter registration drives, and Freedom Rides, giving young people a powerful voice in the fight for equality.
The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee — known as SNCC, pronounced “snick” — was the most youth-led, grassroots, and radical organization of the civil rights era. Founded in April 1960 by students energized by the Greensboro sit-ins, SNCC brought a new generation’s energy, urgency, and willingness to take personal risks into the heart of the movement. Where older organizations like the SCLC were led by ministers and operated through established institutions, SNCC ran on student organizing, lived in the communities it served, and pushed the movement to go further, faster. SNCC’s members registered voters in the most dangerous counties in Mississippi and Alabama, organized Freedom Rides alongside CORE, and ran Freedom Summer in 1964 — a massive campaign that brought hundreds of volunteers to Mississippi and registered thousands of Black voters. SNCC workers understood they were targets: dozens were beaten, several were murdered, and hundreds were jailed. They accepted these risks because they believed the right to vote was worth fighting for. SNCC also produced some of the civil rights movement’s most important leaders. John Lewis, who served as chairman from 1963 to 1966, was beaten on the Edmund Pettus Bridge on Bloody Sunday and went on to serve in Congress for more than three decades. Stokely Carmichael, who replaced Lewis as chairman in 1966, moved the organization toward the Black Power philosophy and gave the phrase “Black Power” its iconic public debut. Fannie Lou Hamer, one of SNCC’s most powerful voices, testified before the Democratic National Convention in 1964 about the violent cost of trying to vote in Mississippi.
Founding Story
SNCC was born from the energy of the 1960 Greensboro sit-ins. When four Black students from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University sat down at a Woolworth’s lunch counter in Greensboro on February 1, 1960, and refused to leave when denied service, a wave of sit-ins spread across the South within weeks. Students in Nashville, Atlanta, and dozens of other cities organized their own actions. The energy was electric — but it was also fragmented. Ella Baker, the SCLC’s executive director and one of the most experienced organizers in the movement, saw an opportunity. She invited student leaders to a conference at Shaw University in Raleigh, North Carolina, over Easter weekend, April 15–17, 1960. More than 200 students attended. Baker encouraged them not to simply become a youth wing of the SCLC but to form their own independent organization with a distinct philosophy: one that put students and local people at the center, not adult leaders. SNCC was founded at that Shaw University conference. Its early philosophy was deeply democratic and decentralized, reflecting Baker’s belief in “group-centered leadership” rather than charismatic individual leaders. Marion Barry — later to become mayor of Washington, D.C. — was elected SNCC’s first chairman. The organization committed to nonviolent direct action, but it was driven by students who were not going to wait for anyone’s permission to take action.
Major Achievements
Watch and Learn
Did You Know?
SNCC Was Pronounced 'Snick'
The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee went by the acronym SNCC, pronounced 'snick' — giving the organization an informal, energetic nickname that fit its youth-driven spirit. SNCC members were often called 'snick workers' in the press.
John Lewis Was Beaten at the Edmund Pettus Bridge — and Later Went Back
On Bloody Sunday in 1965, John Lewis had his skull fractured by a state trooper's club on the Edmund Pettus Bridge. He survived, went on to serve 33 years in Congress, and returned to cross the bridge in peaceful commemoration many times — most recently in 2020, the year he died.
Fannie Lou Hamer Was Beaten for Trying to Register to Vote
When SNCC organizer Fannie Lou Hamer tried to register to vote in Sunflower County, Mississippi in 1962, she was evicted from her plantation home and later severely beaten in jail. Instead of giving up, she became one of SNCC's most powerful speakers and a voice that shook the 1964 Democratic National Convention.
Marion Barry Became Mayor of Washington, D.C.
Marion Barry, elected SNCC's first chairman in 1960, went on to become one of the most prominent political figures in Washington, D.C. He served as mayor for 16 years and was known throughout his career for his commitment to the city's Black community.
SNCC Published Its Own Newspaper
SNCC published its own newspaper called The Student Voice, keeping members and supporters connected across the South. The paper covered sit-ins, Freedom Rides, voter registration, and the broader struggle — giving a youth perspective on the movement that mainstream press often ignored.
Key Events
Landmark events connected to this organization.
February 1, 1960
Greensboro Sit-Ins
Four Black college students sat at a whites-only Woolworth's lunch counter in Greensboro, North Carolina, launching a wave of nonviolent sit-in protests across the South.
May 4 – December 10, 1961
Freedom Rides
Interracial groups of civil rights activists rode buses into the segregated South to challenge the non-enforcement of Supreme Court desegregation rulings.
March 7 – March 25, 1965
Selma to Montgomery Marches
Three marches from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, demanded voting rights for Black Americans. The first march, known as 'Bloody Sunday,' was met with brutal police violence.
Related Organizations
Other organizations and movements connected to this story.
1942–Present
Congress of Racial Equality
A civil rights organization that pioneered the use of nonviolent direct action in America, organizing the Freedom Rides and sit-ins that challenged segregation across the South.
1957–Present
Southern Christian Leadership Conference
Led by Martin Luther King Jr., the SCLC coordinated nonviolent protests across the South, including the Birmingham Campaign and the March on Washington.
Want to teach this organization? We've done the work for you.
Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee Complete Teaching Bundle
Lesson Plan
Comprehensive lesson plan covering the organization's founding, mission, key leaders, and lasting impact.
Student Workbook
Interactive workbook with reading passages, timeline activities, leadership analysis, and a quiz.
Flashcard Set
40 cards covering vocabulary, key facts, leaders, achievements, and review challenges.
Instant digital download · Printable PDF · Grades 4–8 · Verified accurate
Here's a peek inside...
📖 Lesson Plan
📝 Student Workbook
Read the passage about the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee and answer the questions below.
🃏 Flashcard Set - Click to Flip!
Click the card to flip it
Get a Free Sample
Try before you buy! Enter your email to receive a free sampler with flashcards, activities, and a lesson plan excerpt. No spam, just history.