read ' s drug store
baltimore sit - in, dr. helena hicks, read drug store, read drug store sit - in, sit - in
tomorrow reminder - protest downtown balto. save read' s drug store - baltimore' s black history
“there are no plans to demolish read drug store, ” said caron brace with the mayor’s office .
please like our page to help save the historic read' s drug store. direct actions soon to come .
a read’s drug store was built at the corner of howard and lexington streets in 1934, when it was first praised as a local landmark and the modern flagship store for the chain. the store was located at the center of the downtown shopping district and the business grew as read’s drug store expanded throughout downtown baltimore and surrounding regions .
to desegregate read' s drug stores which had been denying lunch counter service to african americans .
after only another two hours of delay the read’s official called back to declare that the read’s drug store decided to desegregate the on january 22, 1955, a front page headline on the afro american of read, “now serve all, ” and included the announcement by read’s drug stores president arthur nattans sr. ,
protesters gathered wednesday at the old read' s drug store at the corner of howard and lexington streets to help get it listed as an historic site .
reverend cortly cd witherspoon, president baltimore southern christian leadership conference, stated, “read’s drug store is the site of one of the first sustained and successful civil rights sit - ins in the country. saving read’s drug store and elevating the history of this period is relevant to the urgent struggle for jobs and justice. ”
we would never dishonor the legacy of read' s drug store ,
majors said. dishonoring it is in no way anywhere on our agenda .
read' s drug store is a historic landmark of baltimore' s civil rights struggle. the mayor as well as the bdc are fighting tooth and nail to destroy it ...
baltimore' s civil rights heritage read' s drug store chain maintained a strict policy of racial segregation at their lunch counters. on january 20, 1955, a gr ...
audrey herman spotlighters theatre has signed an agreement to move from its current home in mount vernon to the former site of the historic read' s drug store on howard street .
: exterior view of read' s drug store at howard and lexington streets. ~ source: maryland historical society, baltimore city life museum collection, svf ~ date: c. 1940
thanks for your comment! we’re confident that the interior photo is the read’s drug store at howard & lexington streets thanks to the big balcony (a modern feature for the flagship store) and the catalog record from the baltimore museum of industry collection .
the group, led by civil rights icon dr. helena hicks, came to protest what they believe is a plan to destroy the historic former read’s drug store on howard and lexington streets .
[ … ] this post was mentioned on twitter by baltimore brew, baltimore heritage. baltimore heritage said: read’s drug store: the jewish connection from the @ jewishmuseummd urltoken # bmorewestside [ … ]
stephanie rawlings - blake and redevelopment officials were extremely disappointed to see that read' s drug store was declared a city landmark last april. this article shows that we can make a difference! urltoken
there, roark said, he plans to memorialize the civil rights history at read' s drug store. he wants to re - create the lunch counter at the drugstore as part of the theater' s cafe .
in mid - march, the project’s architects announced they planned to keep the façade of the drug store and develop around it to honor its historic past .
: as a student at morgan state university, dr. helena hicks participated in a sit - in protest at read' s drug store that led to the desegregation of the chain. ~ source :
mayor stephanie rawlings - blake has vowed to preserve the facade of the read’s drug store on downtown’s west side and commemorate its role in the civil rights movement, but the city - owned building won’t get preservation love for many more months .
read' s drug store is a historic landmark of baltimore' s civil rights struggle. the mayor as well as the bdc are fighting tooth and nail to destroy it and we need to work together to preserve this important piece of history .
this became an issue especially for faculty and students at the nearby morgan state college, which had a predominantly black student body. a group of morgan state college student activists were denied service at a nearby read’s drug store in northwood shopping center, and they decided to work together with the baltimore chapter of core (committee on racial equality) to integrate the drug store .
a modified design incorporating the historic significance of read’s drugstore enhances the development’s value to the community. shame on the developers for not understanding the power of the read’s opportunity .
an exhibit unveiled this week at morgan state university recreates the lunch counter at read' s drug store in baltimore where black students held a series of sit - ins to demand desegregation. (daniel de vise / washington post )
: first showing of the municipal flag at the corner of howard and lexington streets, with read' s drug store in the background. ~ source: maryland historical society, baltimore city life museum collection, cc2876 ~ date: 1914
i wasn' t going to stand on a cold bus stop without something hot to drink ,
she says. without planning to, hicks led the group into read' s drug store and sat at the lunch counter .
baltimore (wjz) — it was the site of a historic student sit - in. now, decades later, the fight over what to do with the read’s drug store building rages on between the city and a civil rights icon .
pousson, eli .
why the west side matters: read' s drug store and baltimore' s civil rights heritage .
baltimore heritage. n. p. , 7 jan. 2011. web. 11 sept. 2011. < urltoken / > .
back in 1955, hicks and a group of morgan state students staged a sit - in at the drug store. it worked and paved the way for desegregation .
one of the west side’s least well known but most important stories is the history of the former read’s drug store at howard and lexington streets and its landmark role in baltimore’s civil rights movement. built in 1934 by baltimore architects smith & may, the press heralded this art deco structure as a local landmark from its beginning– a modern flagship store for the read’s chain, continuing their 50 - year presence at the bustling heart of the downtown retail district .
the read’s drug store sit - ins represent the first use of use of sustained direct action against segregation beyond the protests that occurred in places such as wichita and a number of northern college towns in the 1940s and early 1950s. throughout 1955, protesters occupied members of the read’s drug store chain throughout the city of baltimore. the sit - ins were conducted by students of morgan state college, along with members of the baltimore chapter of the committee of racial equality (core) who believed that by desegregating the drug store chain, they would be making a powerful statement about the dignity of people of color and the economic power of a united black community .
two members of the baltimore city council plan to hold a hearing on preservation of the historic read’s drug store as the controversy continues over the site of a civil rights lunch counter sit - in in 1955 in the midst of a mega - redevelopment on the city’s west side .
core was an organization of civil rights activists who were led by ben everinghim, who had previously been a high school history teacher. core had many successes prior to the read’s drug store success, and provided the students with guidance in conducting their sit - in. on january 20, 1955 core members and morgan state students staged a short sit - in at the read’s drug store flagship store, along with another sit - in which lasted for a week. the sit - in was led by core leader ben everinghim along with dean mcquay kiah, and dr. helena hicks both of morgan state .
william read started his read' s drug store chain at this corner, but the current building, designed by prominent baltimore architects smith & may, was built by arthur nattans bought the business from read in 1899. nattans grew the read' s chain to over forty locations by the early 1930s and planned the downtown location as a flagship store - a modern and well - appointed building, detailed with ornate terra cotta panels depicting sailing ships and chromed railing with swimming dolphins on the interior balcony elements commemorating the 300th anniversary of founding of the maryland colony .
read’s drug store opened in 1934, and had a policy of racial segregation in the 1950s, along with most other places in baltimore. in 1955, students at morgan state college in baltimore, which was a primarily black college, decided that they were going to begin to take action against racial segregation among businesses in baltimore. after morgan state students were denied service at read’s drugstore, they decided to work together with faculty, along with the baltimore chapter of core in order to work towards racial equality and desegregation of the drug store chain .
but the old read drug and chemical co. was booming in this period, and its owners, the nattans family, wanted a first - class retailing lead store for its chain that once blanketed baltimore - and much of the state, too .
students also held a week - long demonstration at the same time as the sit - in at a read' s drug store nearby in northwood shopping center, but little has been reported about these demonstrations or the methods used. most likely more methods were used than reported here .
like many downtown lunch counters in the early 1950s, the read' s chain maintained a strict policy of racial segregation. discontent with the widespread policies of segregation and discrimination downtown led the baltimore chapter of the committee on racial equality (core) to start a campaign to end segregation at lunch counters on lexington street from kresge' s at park avenue to mccrory' s right next door to read' s. at the same time, students from morgan state university began working to desegregate the read' s drug store' s northwood shopping center location, just outside of morgan' s campus .
they got what they wanted, their no. 1 store. it was a grand success, always busy, one of the most profitable selling spaces in maryland. the store' s lilting slogan ,
run right to read' s ,
was rendered in a gorgeous metal typeface across the facade .
spotlighers theatre hopes to relocate to the former read' s drug store. the group is putting in a bid for the abandoned building where morgan state students staged a successful
sit - in
demonstration at the lunch counter in 1955. (kenneth k. lam, baltimore sun video )
cigar box with
read' s
logo, from the collection. 1990. 160. 002
so, what’s the rush? ! read tom kiefaber’s open letter to the special chief solicitor for yourself and you may get some ideas .
read’s drug store had been owned by the nattans family since 1899, when arthur sr. ’s father purchased the original downtown store from druggist william read. a german jewish family that had first settled in washington, d. c. , the nattans moved to baltimore and became active in jewish institutions such as the suburban club and levindale. by 1934, the family had forty drugstores in operation in the baltimore - d. c. area. that year, the nattans completely rebuilt and remodeled the original read’s into the art deco building that exists under threat of demolition today. the family sold its chain to rite aid in 1977 .
several windows on the read' s building are open to the elements. (photo by fern shen )
the 54 - year - old theater is hoping to move to 123 n. howard st. , the building that previously housed a read' s drug store where a 1955 sit - in by morgan state university students aimed to desegregate the lunch counter. it would also be just blocks from the hippodrome theatre and everyman theatre .
you can read all about the sit - in at the website of baltimore heritage, inc. , one of the groups leading the charge to save this historic building. it’s an exciting story, remarkable both for the inspiring and well - coordinated actions of the morgan students (concurrent with their protest at read’s flagship store on howard and lexington, they staged demonstrations at a read’s near the morgan campus in northeast baltimore) and for the quick capitulation of read’s officials. within two days of the sit - in at the downtown store, a front - page headline in the afro - american announced a victory. read’s president arthur nattans sr. stated that “we will serve all customers throughout our entire stores, including the fountains, and this becomes effective immediately. ”
in baltimore, the read' s sit - ins are considered the forerunner to what later happened .
after more than four hours of debate wednesday, the baltimore city commission for historical and architectural preservation determined the $ 150 million redevelopment would not preserve enough historic buildings in the superblock. prime among them is the read' s drug store building at howard and lexington streets, the site of a 1955 sit - in by morgan state university students .
read' s drug store announced they would desegregate lunch counters on january 22, 1955. morgan state college student activists would stay active in the civil rights movement and stage many other sit - ins and protests to desegregate local businesses. the core would also become a pivotal organization for african - americans in the american civil rights movement of the 1960s .
core conducted many successful campaigns to desegregate the lunch counters of k - mart (then called kresage) and other chain stores in the baltimore area. in 1954, the group held protests at grant’s chains stockholder meetings and flagship stores and managed to desegregate many of the border - south outlets. thus, the students at morgan state resolved to work with core to integrate read’s drug store .
on january 20, 1955, core and morgan state joined forces and a group of student activists from morgan staged simultaneous
sit - in
demonstrations at the howard & lexington and northwood read' s locations. according to an article in the baltimore afro american, an unnamed read' s official called morgan state and pleaded with the school to call the protests off because the stores were losing business. school leaders and protesters held firm and within hours a read' s official announced that read' s drug store would end segregated lunch counters across all of their establishments. the front page headline for the afro american on january 22 read ,
now serve all ,
with the announcement directly from read' s drug stores president arthur nattans sr. ,
we will serve all customers throughout our entire stores, including the fountains, and this becomes effective immediately .
five years before the iconic woolworth' s sit - ins in greensboro, north carolina, baltimore' s morgan state students and core activists led one of the first successful student - led sit - in protests in the nation .
if you’ve been following the news in baltimore lately, you know that a major campaign is underway to save the read’s drug store building from demolition. part of the west baltimore downtown shopping district “superblock” slated for redevelopment, read’s was the site of an historic civil rights protest in 1955, when a group of morgan state college students conducted a sit - in at the lunch counter, a full five years before the famous lunch counter sit - ins in greensboro, north carolina .
regretfully, the picture that shows the interior of the read’s store is not the location at howard and lexington streets. the acreage would not have allowed the space shown in a shopping mall. i wonder what plans those who wish the read’s builidng considered a historic building have to establish some viable landmark that will be supported by non - government funds .
and the rest is history: baltimore history, civil rights history, even jewish history. let’s hope that city officials recognize the importance of the read’s store—and the other historic buildings on the superblock—and redevelop the west side by building on our heritage, not by tearing it down .
in a statement released ahead of tuesday' s announcement, rawlings - blake hailed lexington square' s decision to save the read' s building walls as a sign that the developers are serious about wanting to honor the site' s history .
when i set out to interview helena hicks, i thought we' d talk history. the soft - spoken, 80 - year - old who stands just 4 feet 10 inches tall with a sleek, silver bob, is known for her role in helping to desegregate read' s drug store chain. but it turns out she' s as active as ever, a force to reckon with at any sense of injustice .
back then as today, location meant everything and this corner–described as “the heart of the retail shopping district”–was key. over the next two decades, the store remained the flagship of the read’s chain as their business grew across downtown baltimore and the region .
domino sugar tablets, wrapped in paper with
read' s
logo, from the collection. 1990. 160. 001
defying mayor stephanie c. rawlings - blake and city redevelopment officials, baltimore' s preservation commission voted tuesday to add the former read' s drugstore to the city' s
special list
of ...
“baltimore, md, students sit - in to integrate read' s drug stores, usa, 1955. ” global nonviolent action database. accessed march 3, 2015. urltoken edward gunts, superblock plan rejected after civil rights leaders protest the baltimore sun, jan 6, 2011 .
though the baltimore sun heralded the structure at the southeast corner of howard and lexington as an art deco design icon from the time of its construction in 1934, this building' s role as an early and vital witness to a historic, but long over - looked civil rights sit - in makes the read' s drug store building truly noteworthy. five years before the better known greensboro, south carolina sit - in protests at woolworth' s, students and citizens made civil rights history on this spot .
paper bag with the
read' s
logo and employee purchase across front, from the collection. 1990. 160. 003 .
i' m making a preservation pitch for the overlooked 1934 gem, the read' s drugstore at the corner of howard and lexington .
but 56 years ago it was the scene of a protest by morgan state university students whose dissent eventually led to a reversal of the store restaurant’s policy of not serving black patrons .
clarke said the hearing will allow all sides to come together and debate the merits of saving read’s, a forum that has yet to occur .
city officials and members of the development team say preserving the entire read' s building would be difficult because it has been vacant for many years and is in poor condition. moreover, they said, it no longer contains the lunch counter or other fixtures from when read' s operated it .
“the city condemned and acquired read’s and other historic buildings in the superblock, leaving them vacant and lexington street virtually abandoned, ” gearhart said yesterday .
i grew - up near the reads store on maiden choice lane, i was born in 1959. the store had a restaurant, and long kitchen counter. as a kid i spent alot of time in the reads or the arbutus - shopping - plaza, where it was located. in the 1960’s it was a more civil society, to live in, compared to the last four decades. the restaurant side was sold to carrolton - bank in the 1970’s, and the store was never the same as it once was .
by the early 1950s, discontent with the widespread policies of racial segregation and discrimination at baltimore restaurants and shopping establishments began to peak, especially among the community of students and faculty at then morgan state college who could not receive service at the read’s drug store located in the nearby northwood shopping center. these morgan students joined forces with a group of white and black baltimore civil rights activists who organized a local chapter of the committee on racial equality (core) .
read' s wasn' t the first store to desegregate in baltimore, but it' s considered a turning point because it sparked more successful sit - ins in the ensuing years, such as those at arundel ice cream—whose 17 baltimore - area stores finally desegregated in 1959—and later, the northwood theatre, a holdout until 1963. yet, for more than a half - century, the students' successful desegregation of read' s lunch counters—five years before the more famous greensboro, nc, lunch - counter sit - ins—had essentially remained lost to history. the read' s story only began to resurface in the late 2000s when plans to demolish the downtown store' s former home at lexington and howard received public attention. even now, the story remains somewhat under the radar in terms of its early national civil - rights - era legacy .
the history of read’s drug store began in april 1934 when the company announced their plan to demolish their existing building at the corner and replace it with a “modern four - story - and - basement structure” designed by the prominent firm of smith & may, the baltimore architectural partnership behind the iconic bank of america building. the press praised the new building as “the largest construction project to be undertaken in the area for some time” with a number of modern innovations in technology and design–
helena hicks has remained active in baltimore through eras of desegregation and the drug trade. now she gives back to her childhood neighborhood, the same one where freddie gray lived .
phew! mold vapors were wafting out on the howard st. side of the read' s building a few days ago. (photo by fern shen )
on january 20, 1955, ben everinghim the president of baltimore core, dean mcquay kiah of morgan state, a group of student activists from morgan including dr. helena hicks, and others staged a “sit - in” demonstration at the read’s howard & lexington location at the same time as another group of morgan students staged a full week of demonstrations at the read’s store at the northwood shopping center. their brave efforts yielded remarkable results with the quick response accounted in the baltimore afro american by b. m. phillips as “a true story, ” describing a conversation between morgan state college dean george grant and an unnamed “read’s drugstore official, ”
baltimore heritage director johns hopkins (distant descendant of the johns hopkins) says it was during the late 2000s, when demolition of the read' s building was formally proposed, that the story of read' s began to come to life again. he believes the location of the building and its historic sit - ins are central to understanding the city' s complicated record regarding racial prejudice—nowhere more obvious than at howard and lexington. the city' s beloved department stores—hochchild' s, stewart' s, hecht' s, and hutzler' s (
where baltimore shops !
) —all maintained some form of segregation until 1960 or later .
although the engineering consultant makes it sound like demolition is unlikely, it’s hard to ignore that the neglect led to read’s roof collapse and it’s much more costly to reconstruct as opposed to preventative maintenance / repairs, especially when you’re talking about proper restoration to an historic structure .
tagged: baltimore heritage, civil rights, collections, deb weiner, desegregation, historic buildings, inc. , read' s, sit - ins, walking tours
the sit - in lasted for less than half an hour before the students left voluntarily. the peace was not disturbed and none of the protesters were arrested. however, the students were also denied service at read’s during the sit - in. students organized other protests at the same time at several read’s branches in the area .
separately, the city said it would proceed with installing a temporary roof on the read’s building, whose interior timber framing has partially collapsed from years of water leakage .
as developers and architects weigh the what' s to be kept and what' s to be bulldozed on lexington street, the case for read' s needs to be heard. about 35 years ago, much of its chrome work was hidden by some awful cover - up materials. read' s successor, the rite aid corp. , moved across the street to the old may - hecht building, also designed by smith and may .
( update: getting a roof on read’s is going to be slower than we thought. alfred h. foxx, city director of public works, and an aide told us today that bid contracts typically take nine months to be processed and awarded. the read’s bid is scheduled to be advertised next month, which would push back the roof contract’s approval by the boe to fall 2012. )
the developer' s previous plan drew strong opposition from preservationists, who said the read' s building should be saved as a national civil rights landmark. the downtown sit - in and others at baltimore - area stores, which had a policy of not serving african - americans, prompted the read' s chain to begin serving all patrons, white and black, at its 37 lunch counters .
ford’s theatre desegregated in 1952 after years of relentless picketing. thirty - seven read’s drugstores opened their lunch counters to blacks in 1955. four years later, the protesters forced the desegregation of the chain of arundel ice cream shops .
a meeting is scheduled tuesday before the city’s commission for historic and architectural preservation, where panel members will debate whether the historic significance of read’s drugs merits the building’s addition to a list for historic preservation in the city, said johns hopkins, executive director of baltimore heritage, a nonprofit advocacy group .
mayor stephanie rawlings - blake' s position on read' s appears to have evolved since initially supporting so - called
superblock
development plans that would have doomed the building. a spokeswoman, writing in an e - mail, says the mayor is committed to
commemorating the events that occurred at the former read' s drugstore ,
but notes that new redevelopment efforts that would at least protect the building' s facade remain tied up amid litigation filed by the site' s former developers who were contracted by the city .
i hated it. it' s hard to explain to people why you have a policewoman sitting at work beside your desk, and who has to be with you when you go to the grocery store ,
she says .
your email address will be altered so spam harvesting bots can' t read it easily. hide my email completely instead ?
a few days later, the front page of the january 22, 1955, national edition of the afro - american newspaper ran a short story, datelined baltimore, with the headline
now serve all .
read' s, which had 39 area stores, had suddenly decided to desegregate, with the article citing a
sit - down strike
at its
largest store in the heart of the city, the day before the change of policy was announced .
a more in - depth story appeared inside as well, referencing other, coordinated read' s lunch - counter desegregation efforts by morgan students and the baltimore chapter of the committee on racial equality (core) downtown and at the northwood shopping center read' s near campus. the baltimore afro - american published the same day also made several references to the morgan students' sit - ins and read' s subsequent policy change .
on january 20, 1955, a group of student activists from morgan state and core staged a “sit - in” at the read’s central howard and lexington location at the same time another group of morgan state students held a week - long demonstration at the nearby read’s in northwood shopping center, although notmuch has been reported on this campaign or the methods used. the sit - in was led by ben everinghim, dean mcquay kiah and dr. helena hicks of morgan state, and other students who came to sit at the read’s lunch counters to demand service .
over the past two months, numerous groups have joined the call to preserve the read' s building and others on the superblock, including students from city neighbors charter school, two local chapters of the service employees international union, morgan state university students and even a son of the former head of the read' s chain. the controversy also has received national attention .
read’s has also been the subject of controversy because of its unique social history. a 1955 sit - in by morgan state students eventually forced the drugstore chain to desegregate its lunch counters .
helena hicks has remained active in baltimore through eras of desegregation and the drug trade. now she gives back to her childhood neighborhood, the same one where freddie gray lived. jennifer ludden / npr hide caption
the downside of desegregation was white flight, the rise of the local drug trade and the blocks of vacant row houses that now pockmark baltimore' s poorest areas. but hicks has continued to speak out. in a city known for a code of no - snitching, she says she endured a year of police protection in the 1980s when she was a possible witness in the trial of a local drug gang leader. she swears she' d never go through that again .
this is a big step toward a reasonable compromise on this issue ,
the mayor' s statement read .
honoring our history and building for our future should not be mutually exclusive goals. i' m very pleased that lexington square partners is taking real steps to commemorate the read' s site and is moving forward with new investment for the west side .
in 1955, helena hicks was a student at morgan state college (now morgan state university). one day in january, while waiting for the bus, she and a number of her classmates stepped inside read’s drug store, at the corner of howard and lexington streets, and tried to order something hot to drink. it was the era of jim crow and they were african - americans; they were refused service. but their action eventually led to the desegregation of lunch counters throughout baltimore, and helped ignite a wave of lunch - counter sit - ins across the country .
the commission' s members also plan to meet in april to consider adding the read' s building to a special list of structures, preventing it from being demolished for up to six months while city officials and the project' s developers come up with a way to include the building in their development plans .
read' s was designed by baltimore architects smith and may, who gave us the monumental bank of america building (10 light street - baltimore trust co .) just five years earlier .
the move sparked other protests, and a few days later read' s announced it would desegregate all of its 37 stores. that was five years before the more famous sit - ins .
another panel, the city’s urban design and architecture review panel, must also approve the new design. the panel rejected the original plan in january, amid protests against the razing of read’s drugs. at the time, the architects from lexington square partners llc, the superblock’s design team based in atlanta, said they were unaware of the historic sit - in or the lunch counter’s existence .
the mold smell is not surprising considering the assessment in a recent engineering consultant’s report that 80% of the building’s roof has failed .
this effort led to quick results. read’s was hurt by the lost business from the sit - in and related protests and quickly declared that it would desegregate the lunch counters. on january 22, the headline of afro american was “now serve all”, and the article quoted read’s president arthur nattans sr. saying, “we will serve all customers throughout our entire stores, including the fountains, and this becomes effective immediately” .
what: teach - in – protest - and speak out. hear the community, including those who remember baltimore’s segregation and today’s youth .
with the preservation of the read' s facades, they say, nearly 90 percent of the wall along lexington street will be preserved and more than 75 percent of the wall along howard street will be preserved .
areas were established in many of the rite aid locations. this same year, rite aid partnered with urltoken to allow customers of rite aid to place prescription orders through the site for in - store purchase .
ironic to see this article. my mother worked, as a cashier, at the delicatessen of the 1938 vintage kresge five - and - dime department store. it was located at the southeast corner of park and lexington streets, opposite gutman’s in downtown baltimore, md. in 1955, i remember my aunt taking me to mom’s job and being scolded for sitting at the counter. i just wanted a soda float, which was a dip of vanila ice cream in a glass of coca cola. who knew this little ‘colored’ girl, all of 5 years old, was in breech of a major store polocy. “negros can work for and purchase store goods; however, they cannot sit and be served in the store”. my mother, in a frantic at my disappearance, explained this to me, as she lifted me by the arm off that round red leather seat on chrome legs. i never forgot that day. it was my introduction to racism .
morgan state president david wilson took the school’s annual founder’s day as the occasion to open a permanent memorial to its unheralded role in the civil rights movement. some of the protesters unveiled a series of plaques posted outside the student dining hall, along with a life - size re­creation of the lunch counter at read’s, a place where every student will see them .
best farmers markets in baltimore charm city' s farmers markets offer great opportunities to get some of the region' s best and freshest produce .
like many downtown commercial establishments in the early 1950s, the read’s chain maintained a strict policy of racial segregation at their lunch counters. in 1955, a group of morgan state students came together with the leadership of the recently organized baltimore committee on racial equality to organize a sit - in protest at the lunch counter of the read’s drug store at howard and lexington streets. they succeeded in this effort, marking this building as a witness to the first successful student - led sit - in protest in baltimore and defining a powerful model for the more famous lunch - counter sit - in of greensboro, north carolina in 1960. this building is currently threatened with total demolition by the proposed development of the superblock by the baltimore development corporation and lexington square partners. baltimore heritage, together with partners and supporters from across the city, is advocating for the city to reconsider this proposal and encourage the preservation and re - use of this essential landmark in baltimore’s civil rights history .
so we started on the change to integrate eating places. and we continued it, because when i graduated and went off to howard university to graduate school... we went into all those restaurants and coffee shops up and down route 1 on our way to [ washington, ] d. c. and we tried to get into them, we tried to desegregate them. it was a continuous movement... . it was like building a house, i guess, building blocks... . read’s was just read’s. everything else didn’t open immediately... . read’s was just the example of the very first that decided to cave in .
the sit - in at the flagship store lasted for less than a half an hour, it was non - violent, and no one was arrested. the participants were denied service however, and this sit - in sparked many other protests at other local read’s. as a result of the sit - in protests of read’s drugstores, they lost business, and the owner announced that they would begin serving all customers at all locations. the results of this sit - in were quick, and led to integration at other businesses around baltimore. the methods used during this sit - in also provided a model for future sit - in protests during the civil rights movement .
gunts, edward .
read' s drugstore flap brings baltimore civil rights history to life .
the baltimore sun 8 feb. 2011: n. pag. the baltimore sun. web. 11 sept. 2011. <
read’s, as well as many of the other downtown businesses in the early 1950s, had a policy of racial segregation at its lunch counters. african - americans could buy products from the store but they were not allowed service or a place to sit at the lunch counters. however, people were becoming discontent with the institutionalized policies of racial segregation and discrimination in baltimore businesses. in 1955, a year after the supreme court’s brown v. board of education decision, there was widespread talk of civil rights liberties and desegregation .
read’s official: please call your students off. they’re staging a showdown here in our northwood store. we’re losing business. dean grant: we teach our students here they must practice democracy and help others to understand it. i don’t think you want us to tell them what they’re doing is wrong. ro: yes, but we’re losing business with them sitting at our counters. dg: well, there are several things you can do. ro: what’s that? dg: why not put a sign up in your store saying dogs, cats and colored people are not allowed? ro: well, we couldn’t do that. dg: well, why not put an ad in the afro saying that read’s wants colored people to shop there but they can’t eat there; and you know you have another alternative, you can say to all your customers everyone can be served at our lunch counters. ro: well, we are in sympathy with this thing – we’ll see what can be done .
a baltimore civil rights icon is still pushing to help city' s young sixty years ago, helena hicks helped desegregate the city' s lunch counters. in the wake of freddie gray' s death, the 80 - year - old has continued to advocate for baltimore' s poor, black residents .
tyler gearhart, executive director of preservation maryland, said he remains concerned about the degree to which lexington square' s revised plan fails to comply with a 2001 preservation agreement between the city and the state, which called for the read' s building and others on the block to be preserved if at all possible .
today we have an update with some distressing news regarding historic preservation in baltimore. we just learned that baltimore’s local historic preservation commission - the commission for historical and architectural preservation (chap) – is holding a special “closed door” meeting on monday, august 27 with the purpose of firing chap’s executive director, ms. kathleen kotarba. while we are reluctant to get involved in a personnel matter at chap, we are confident that the effort to fire ms. kotarba is directly related to her professional work with chap staff and commissioners and fear that it involves recent controversial historic preservation issues – the preservation of read’s drug store, the mechanic theater, and the edgar allan poe house. as you know, preservation issues are at the forefront of many city - shaping decisions today and we fear that the effort to fire ms. kotarba is an attempt to reduce the influence of historic preservation in baltimore .
it took two years of demonstrations, but in 1955, the owners of read’s opened their lunch counters to blacks. four years later, in march 1959, another sit - in campaign would later change practices at the arundel ice cream chain .
read’s is part of the so - called “superblock” where a city - backed $ 150 million apartment - retail project has been the subject of legal disputes for the last six years. in his presentation to the panel, m. j. “jay” brodie, president of the bdc, blamed the lawsuits for tying the city’s hands .
hi steve – while the museum does not have a specific “read’s collection, ” the objects featured in this post are part of our collections. for more information, please contact joanna church, our director of collections and exhibits at jchurch @ urltoken .
karen colizzi noonan, theatre historical society of america ‘s (thsa) commented today on adam meister’s urltoken article clarifying her position both regarding her letter to baltimore city mayor stephanie rawlings - blake and her experience serving on the bdc’s senator advisory panel .
the rite aid chain, (originally called thrif d discount center ,) opened in scranton, pennsylvania in 1962. through the acquisitions of new drugstores and locations, rite aid quickly expanded into several other states in 1965. the drugstore chain was renamed as the rite aid corporation in 1968 and made its debut on the american stock exchange that same year. in 1972, rite aid had 267 locations in 10 states. rite aid was now considered to be the third largest drugstore in america. in 1983, an acquisition of over 400 stores was made, expanding rite aid to 2, 000 locations, and reached a profit - level of over $ 1 billion. rite aid also acquired read’s drug store at this time. rite aid bought out perry drug stores in 1995, and thrifty payless and bi - mart in 1996. after failing to reach a level of profit acceptable to its new owner, bi - mart was sold off two years later. in 1999, rite aid bought harco, inc. , k & b inc. , and the general nutrition companies. small
responding to pressure from preservationists and civil rights activists fighting to preserve the former read' s drugstore building downtown, developers of the $ 150 million lexington square project that would have razed the building now agree to incorporate two of its exterior walls into their project .
because the family kept the original read’s name on its stores, the chain’s jewish ownership has been somewhat obscured. the nattans belong in the same category as the hutzlers, gutmans, hoschchilds, kohns, hechts, epsteins—retailers who made an indelible mark on the baltimore scene. and like those other jewish retailers, the nattans went along with baltimore’s jim crow traditions until forced to change during the civil rights era. (you can read about discrimination against blacks at jewish - owned department stores in an excellent article by paul kramer, “white sales, ” published in our enterprising emporiums catalog back in 2001. )
online exclusive! view additional images of morgan state university’s permanent civil rights era exhibit .
“finally, we’re going to set some history straight, ” gibson told thursday’s crowd .
this post was originally published on baltimore heritage ‘s blog on august 23, 2012 .
the former read’s drugs is at the site of a $ 150 million development of the superblock, an area bordered by lexington, howard and fayette streets and park avenue. architects had drawn up a plan that called for razing the property, which is blighted and vacant
the main sit - in occurred at read’s flagship store on january 20, 1955. protested also organized several other demonstrations, including those that occurred at other franchise locations. the wave of sit - in protests may have been short - lived, but historians have shown that they inspired future direct action protests in other
border cities
from missouri to kentucky. in 1960, a similar protest in north carolina led to a wave of protests throughout the border south that even spread into a number of communities in the deep south .
at the time, morgan students could spend their money at the local read’s drugstore but couldn’t sit at the lunch counter. resentment built on campus, where many students were from the integrated north, and groups of morgan students began to line up at the counter daily .
biased by laws both written and unwritten, the city could be onerous and discriminating at one turn, accommodating the next. forget, for a moment, the big stuff, like applying for a job or buying a house. for black citizens, simply trying on clothes or shoes, seeing a movie, filling a prescription, getting a bite to eat—hell, a cup of coffee—meant navigating a labyrinth of rules that shape - shifted not just from neighborhood to neighborhood, but often store to store within a single downtown block .
[ after that ] the protest kinda picked up. even though people think about the civil rights movement starting in the ’60s, this was the ’50s—and we had been protesting a long time. the first protest down at ford’s theatre [ in the 1940s ], part of it was with a group of morgan students. it wasn’t anything new, it was just that the press didn’t pick it up. now, the press did pick up the read’s drug store sit - in—there were, like, three lines in the baltimore sun —and i’m glad they did because that was, like, our only proof that it happened... . so we really started a national movement, which we were shocked to find out about in later years, because we were just students doing, you know, i dare you to put me out. you just don’t believe you’re making history, you certainly don’t think about that... .
in 1953, seven years before the formal launch of the sit - in movement, students from morgan state college were lining up daily at the lunch counter of read’s drugstore. there, some manager or anxious waitress would recite the maryland trespassing statute and ask them to leave .
also see individual galleries of the best of baltimore' s 2015 theater season, the best classical music performed in baltimore in 2015 and baltimore' s best new bars of 2015 .
pictured left, center: helena hicks, who later went on to earn a ph. d. , as a morgan state college student in her 1955 graduation photo. pictured right, lower left: hicks' s friend and classmate geraldine leake, who, according to hicks, also took part in the downtown read' s drugstore sit - in in january of 1955 .
the bdc helped him narrow his focus based on the size of each building. if the theater does move into the 21, 000 - square - foot read' s building, it would provide extra space for classrooms, offices and a theater shop. the additional space would provide room to expand the theater' s educational programming and its audience — between 110 and 120 seats.
read 's drug store was a chain of stores based in baltimore , maryland . read 's drug store was founded by william read . he sold it to the nattans family in 1899 . the downtown store was constructed in 1934 by smith & may , baltimore architects also responsible for the bank of america building at 10 light st. in 1929 , one company slogan was " run right to reads . " read 's was purchased from the nattans by rite aid in 1983 . the downtown store was the site of an early sit-in during the civil rights movement . read 's downtown baltimore location has since closed , leaving behind an empty building . there is currently a controversy over whether to raze this building for development or preserve it and turn it into a civil rights museum . 
read's drug store was a chain of stores based in baltimore, maryland. read's drug store was founded by william read. he sold it to the nattans family in 1899. the downtown store was constructed in 1934 by smith & may, baltimore architects also responsible for the bank of america building at 10 light st. in 1929, one company slogan was " run right to reads. " read's was purchased from the nattans by rite aid in 1983. the downtown store was the site of an early sit-in during the civil rights movement. read's downtown baltimore location has since closed, leaving behind an empty building. there is currently a controversy over whether to raze this building for development or preserve it and turn it into a civil rights museum.
read's drug store was a chain of stores based in baltimore, maryland. read's drug store was founded by william read. he sold it to the nattans family in 1899. the downtown store was constructed in 1934 by smith & may, baltimore architects also responsible for the bank of america building at 10 light st. in 1929, one company slogan was " run right to reads. " read's was purchased from the nattans by rite aid in 1983. the downtown store was the site of an early sit-in during the civil rights movement. read's downtown baltimore location has since closed, leaving behind an empty building. there is currently a controversy over whether to raze this building for development or preserve it and turn it into a civil rights museum.