Civil Rights Protests Interpretive Sign

Our interpretive sign for the Crisfield Protests of 1961 sits outside of Shiloh United Methodist Church on 4th Street in Crisfield and honors a group of Freedom Riders that led a sit-in in Crisfield. On Christmas Eve in 1961, 10 interracial members of the Civic Interest Group in Baltimore traveled to Crisfield, the home of Maryland Governor J. Millard Tawes, to protest racism. The group led a sit-in at the City Restaurant and were refused service. They were arrested for trespassing and jailed. Four were released on bail, but the other six refused to pay the bail bond. While jailed for five days, the fasted and sang. A second protest on December 29th included the original 10 – along with about 110 local residents. This time, they were served at local restaurants, and no one was arrested. The protests were reported nationwide.