[4] This first sit-in caused emotional fortitude and physical restraint, captured by the lenses of reporters, exposed a new generation of young adults to nonviolent direct activism.
King conferred with Joseph Pierce and Julian Bond about organizing a student movement in the Atlanta University Center.
"[5] Dr. Frank Cunningham of Morris Brown College was the last to speak and he strongly supported Dr. Richardson's opinion about the student movement that was developing in the South.
[3][5] Following King's speech, Dr. Clement suggested the students announce their position through a manifesto to the Atlanta Community before undertaking organized protests.
[6][3] Lonnie King appointed Roslyn Pope, Morris Dillard, Albert Brinson, Julian Bond, and Charles Black to draft An Appeal for Human Rights, which described both their complaints as well as their desired goals for the proposed change.
[5] On March 16, 1960, the representatives from the six affiliated institutions of Atlanta University Center met to form the Committee on Appeal for Human Rights (COHAR).
The representatives of the respective institutions were: Atlanta University: John Mack, Johnny Parham, and Willie Mays; Clark: James Felder, Benjamin Brown and Lydia Tucker; Morehouse: Donald Clarke, Albert Brinson, and Julian Bond; Morris Brown: William Hickson, MaryAnn Smith, Robert Schley; ITC: Otis Moss, James Wilborn, Marion Bennett; Spelman: Marian Wright, Josephine Jackson, Roslyn Pope.
[3] The reason for this request was that the issue of Civil Rights was not a topic of discussion in the presidential election of 1960 between Richard Nixon and John F. Kennedy.
Both candidates were ignoring the more than 70,000 Negro college students in the South who were acting to defy segregation laws and demand freedom.
[6] Downtown Atlanta white establishments lost over $10 million due to the Christmas Boycotts carried out by the Negro Community.
Elder black leaders, including A.T. Walden, Martin Luther King Sr., and William Holmes Borders attempted to lecture the hostile audience about the thought process behind the decision that was made on March 6.
[13] Overall, the "disruption caused by sit-ins" organized by the Atlanta Student Movement "inspired the effort to desegregate peacefully",[14] as well as aiding in creating "a political crisis for candidates during the presidential election campaign".
[15] The original work on An Appeal for Human Rights begun by members of the Atlanta Student Movement continues into the present, with periodic reviews in 2000, and 2010.
[21] Dr Lonnie King, Chairman of the Atlanta Student Movement of 1960-1961 said that the document 'clearly illustrates that the quest for a 'just' society continues to this day'.