The term “Chattanooga 111” refers to a group of 111 prominent African Americans who were arrested and jailed in Chattanooga, Tennessee, on June 27, 1960, for peacefully protesting against segregation and racial discrimination.
The arrests were part of a larger campaign of nonviolent civil disobedience organized by the Chattanooga chapter of the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE). The protesters, who included students, teachers, ministers, and other community leaders, were arrested after they refused to leave a whites-only lunch counter at the Woolworth’s department store in downtown Chattanooga.