Piccadilly Cafeteria - 28 days of Resistance
Led by strong and passionate individuals who objected to the normalization of injustice, where society generally ignored, and Jim Crow laws upheld, racial-based injustices in their communities. One of the most visible of these injustices were laws which legally enforced racial segregation in public accommodations, including hotels, restaurants, theaters, transportation, and stores. On June 11, 1963, President John F. Kennedy proposed a civil rights bill to outlaw this type of segregation.[1] The bill reached the United States Senate on March 20, 1964, only to face filibuster for two months.[2]
A key tactic of the Civil Rights Movement was resistance in the form of economic boycotts. One of the early successful boycotts was the 13-month boycott of the Montgomery city bus system in Alabama which resulted in the U.S. Supreme Court declaring unconstitutional Alabama’s laws segregating buses.[3]
Another example of how peaceful resistance could challenge social injustice occurred at the Piccadilly Cafeteria in Dallas in 1964. Around 6:30pm on May 29, 1964, Dallas resident African American Clarence Broadnax went to Piccadilly Cafeteria to eat. While waiting in line, the owner approached him and using a derogatory term he told Broadnax that Piccadilly does not serve black people and “he was not about to get started.” Broadnax refused to leave, protesting against the injustice of segregated restaurants, the owner called Dallas police. The police asked Broadnax to leave, however, Broadnax replied that he would not leave until the cafeteria decided to serve all citizens. The police then arrested Broadnax and took him to jail. However, since the police had no charges against Broadnax, he was released.[4] Broadnax immediately returned to the Piccadilly only for the police to arrest him a second time and this time they held him until the cafeteria closed for the day. When the police released Broadnax, he again returned to the closed Piccadilly where local reporters interviewed him. Media coverage of the incident led Juanita Craft, a NAACP leader, to mobilize hundreds of protesters on May 30th to join Clarence in this peaceful resistance.[5]
Juanita Craft was a reputable name in the Black Civil Rights Movement, having worked to desegregate many Texas spaces, including the University of Texas, and North Texas State College in the 1950s and the State Fair of Texas in 1967.[6] Through her network and organization abilities, Craft and over 300 protesters joined Broadnax at the Piccadilly cafeteria. Other civil right leaders joined the protest, including Dr. Earl Allen, pastor of Highlands Hills Methodist Church in Dallas and a local leader of the Congress on Racial Equity (CORE), Bishop College student Ted Armstrong, and Reverend John Bethel.[7] Allen was a Southern Methodist University Perkins School of Theology graduate who began his activist actions on campus and in the surrounding areas, targeting segregated establishments around the university.[8] Several other activists, students, and civilians joined the protest to end Piccadilly Cafeteria policy of segregation.
Similar to the bus boycott in Montgomery, the protestors pulled economic levers to effect change. The Montgomery bus boycott denied the bus system revenue from the African American community. Instead of a boycott to starve a business of revenue, the Piccadilly cafeteria protestors starved the business of revenue by joining the line for service at the cafeteria. On being refused service, the individual protestors returned to the end of the line and tried to be served again. This created a logjam for the cafeteria, especially during the profitable lunchtime rush, causing a loss of revenue. Other supporters stood by chanting support, walked up and down the street holding protest signs. The cafeteria did not stand idly. During the protest, Dallas police arrested seventeen protesters for “disturbing the peace.”[9] Piccadilly served Allen with an injunction and the Black Ministerial Alliance also served Allen with an injunction as they were worried that the Piccadilly protest would “set us back fifty years.”[10]
Within a few days of the protest starting, Dallas County Sheriff’s Department began surveillance of the protests. Many of the photographs accompanying this article are from the Sheriff’s Department photographic surveillance of the protestors and bystanders. FBI special agents were also present at the protest.[11]
Cafeteria lawyers tried to prevent the protest by requesting a restraining order to keep protestors fifty feet away from the cafeteria’s entrance.[12] Allen and Armstrong received several injunctions to leave the cafeteria.[13] Their lawyers fought the order, explaining that “the order is an unlawful infringement of the rights of the defendants here, Mr. Armstrong and Reverend Allen, and the members of the Congress of Racial Equality, in that it prevents them from expressing their opinions and prevents them from using the streets of the city of Dallas.”[14] Black and white protesters defied court orders to continue their action against the Piccadilly.[15] Newspapers around the country reported on the protests, including The New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal and Los Angeles Times.[16]
Counter protestors came in support of Piccadilly cafeteria. Members of the Jaycees of Dallas and Mississippi marched on Commerce Street with a street-wide confederate flag.[17]
The protest ended 28 days later on June 27 after the Piccadilly Cafeteria manager and Allen reached an agreement, eight days after the Civil Rights Act of 1964 passed the Senate. The protesters would stop impeding the cafeteria’s operation as long as the cafeteria served African Americans once the Civil Rights Act was passed. As promised, a couple of hours after President Lyndon Johnson signed the document, on July 2, Rev. John Bethel was the first African American to be freely served at Piccadilly Cafeteria.
This 28-day-long resistance is an example of the profound and inspirational resilience and persistence of African Americans throughout the Civil Rights Movement. It also demonstrates the magnitude of effort needed to achieve even a mild change that would benefit this population and contribute to racial equality. Hundreds of voices and almost a month were needed to change one single establishment in one city in one state.
[1] “The Civil Rights Act of 1964,” UVA Miller Center, https://millercenter.org/the-presidency/educational-resources/the-civil-rights-act-of-1964
[2] “Protesting at the Piccadilly: Dallas and the Civil Rights Movement,” University of North Texas, Libraries, Yesterday’s News. https://blogs.library.unt.edu/yesterdays-news/2018/02/19/piccadilly/
[3] “The Civil Rights Act of 1964,” UVA Miller Center.
[4] “28 Days At The Piccadilly,” Sixth Floor Museum, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-d7GD_P-Nw . “Clarence Broadnax, Piccadilly’s Café Sit-In, 1964,” Dallas Holocaust and Human Rights Museum. https://www.dhhrm.org/piccadilly-cafeteria/
[5] “Protesting at the Piccadilly: Dallas and the Civil Rights Movement,”
[6] “Juanita Shanks Craft,” WITH Women in Texas History, Ruthe Winegarten Foundation. https://www.womenintexashistory.org/biographies/juanita-craft/#
[7] “Civil Rights: Piccadilly Cafeteria Protest,” The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza, https://emuseum.jfk.org/collections/37303/civil-rights-piccadilly-cafeteria-protest and “Protesting at the Piccadilly: Dallas and the Civil Rights Movement.”
[8] “28 Days At The Piccadilly.”
[9] “Civil Rights: Piccadilly Cafeteria Protest.”
[10] “28 Days At The Piccadilly.”
[11] “28 Days At The Piccadilly.”
[12] “Woman entering courtroom during a hearing about a Dallas civil rights protest,” The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza, https://www.jfk.org/collections-archive/surveillance-photo-of-piccadilly-cafeteria-civil-rights-protest-courthouse/
[13] “Protesting at the Piccadilly: Dallas and the Civil Rights Movement.”
[14] WBAP-TV (Television station : Fort Worth, Tex.). [News Clip: Hearing], video, June 24, 1964; Fort Worth, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc1062768/m1/: accessed April 18, 2025), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Special Collections.
[15] “New Protest in Dallas,” The New York Times, June 6, 1964.
[16] “Civil Rights: Piccadilly Cafeteria Protest.”
[17] “Protesting at the Piccadilly: Dallas and the Civil Rights Movement.”
Bibliography
“28 Days At The Piccadilly,” Sixth Floor Museum, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-d7GD_P-Nw
“About Congress of Racial Equality.” Congress of Racial Equality, www.thecongressofracialequality.org/about.html.
“Civil Rights: Piccadilly Cafeteria Protest,” The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza, https://emuseum.jfk.org/collections/37303/civil-rights-piccadilly-cafeteria-protest
“Clarence Broadnax, Piccadilly’s Café Sit-In, 1964,” Dallas Holocaust and Human Rights Museum. https://www.dhhrm.org/piccadilly-cafeteria/
“Earl Allen (Reverend).” Black Church History, 6 Oct. 2024, blackchurchhistory.org/advocate/earl-allen-reverend/. Accessed 26 Mar. 2025.
“Juanita Shanks Craft,” WITH Women in Texas History, Ruthe Winegarten Foundation. https://www.womenintexashistory.org/biographies/juanita-craft/#
“New Protest in Dallas,” The New York Times, June 6, 1964.
“Photograph of People at a 1964 Civil Rights Protest in Dallas | the Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza.” Jfk.org, 2020, www.jfk.org/collections-archive/surveillance-photo-of-piccadilly-cafeteria-civil-rights-protest-62/. Accessed 26 Mar. 2025.
“Protesting at the Piccadilly: Dallas and the Civil Rights Movement”. UNT Yesterday’s News, 19 Feb. 2018, https://blogs.library.unt.edu/yesterdays-news/2018/02/19/piccadilly/
“The Civil Rights Act of 1964,” UVA Miller Center, https://millercenter.org/the-presidency/educational-resources/the-civil-rights-act-of-1964
WBAP-TV (Television station : Fort Worth, Tex.). [News Clip: Hearing], video, June 24, 1964; Fort Worth, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc1062768/m1/: accessed April 18, 2025), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Special Collections.
“Woman entering courtroom during a hearing about a Dallas civil rights protest,” The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza, https://www.jfk.org/collections-archive/surveillance-photo-of-piccadilly-cafeteria-civil-rights-protest-courthouse/
“Works – Civil Rights: Piccadilly Cafeteria Protest – Collections – the Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza.” Jfk.org, 2025, emuseum.jfk.org/collections/37303/civil-rights-piccadilly-cafeteria-protest/objects
Images
Crowd outside Piccadilly Cafeteria, June 1, 1964.
Dallas County Sheriff's Department Collection, Courtesy The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza
Black and white photograph of a crowd at a June 1964 civil rights protest at the Piccadilly Cafeteria on Commerce Street in downtown Dallas. Based on notes made on the backs of other photos in the collection showing the same people, the man second from the viewer's left is identified as George Cooper, the woman third from the left is Maya Alderson Schulze and the man fourth from the left is Frederick Charles Schulze. The date "Jun 1 1964" is stamped in red ink on the back of the photograph. Dallas County Sheriff's Department Collection, Courtesy The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza | Source: The Portal to Texas HistorySurveillance Photo of Piccadilly Cafeteria Civil Rights Protest - The Portal to Texas History | Creator: Dallas County Sheriff's Department June 1, 1964. View File Details Page
Clarence Broadnax at Piccadilly Cafeteria Civil Rights Protest, June 5, 1964
Dallas County Sheriff's Department Collection, Courtesy The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza
Dallas County Sheriff's Department Collection, Courtesy The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza. Black and white photograph of Dallas resident Clarence Broadnax participating in a June 1964 civil rights protest at the Piccadilly Cafeteria on Commerce Street in downtown Dallas. Mr. Broadnax holds a sign that includes a picture of President Kennedy on one side and the hand-lettered words "DID JFK DIE IN VAIN" on the other. Other protestors and pedestrians can be seen in the background. The date "Jun 5 1964" is stamped in red ink on the back of the photograph. | Source: The Portal to Texas History https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1390566/ | Creator: Dallas County Sheriff's Department June 5, 1964. View File Details Page
Rev. Dr. Earl Allen at the Piccadilly Cafeteria protest, June 2, 1964
Dallas County Sheriff's Department Collection, Courtesy The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza.
Dallas County Sheriff's Department Collection, Courtesy The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza. Black and white photographic print of Earl Allen at a June 1964 civil rights protest at the Piccadilly Cafeteria on Commerce Street in downtown Dallas. The image shows Allen, a local leader with the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), wearing a plaid jacket and sunglasses while smoking a pipe. He is looking down towards a piece of paper held in his hands. An unknow African American man is partially visible standing in front of Allen. They are standing in front of the cafeteria. Stamped in red ink on back of photo is the date "Jun 2 1964", and a handwritten note identifies the primary subject as "Earl E Allen." | Source: The Portal to Texas History https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1390424/ | Creator: Dallas County Sheriff's Department June 2, 1964. View File Details Page
Reverend Dr. Earl Allen served with papers, June 2, 1964.
Dallas County Sheriff's Department Collection, Courtesy The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza.
Dallas County Sheriff's Department Collection, Courtesy The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza. Black and white photographic print of Dallas minister Earl Allen speaking to an unknown white man at a June 1964 civil rights protest at the Piccadilly Cafeteria on Commerce Street in downtown Dallas. The image shows Allen wearing sunglasses looking towards the unknown white man wearing a hat. The white man holds several pieces of paper and is looking towards Earl Allen. The white man is serving Allen with injunction papers. Several unknown individuals can be seen in the background. Stamped in red ink on back of photo is the date "Jun 2 1964" and the handwritten name "Earle Allen." | Source: The Portal to Texas History https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1390568/citation/#top | Creator: Dallas County Sheriff's Department June 2, 1964. View File Details Page
Man at the Piccadilly Cafeteria protest, June 5, 1964.
Dallas County Sheriff's Department Collection, Courtesy The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza.
Dallas County Sheriff's Department Collection, Courtesy The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza. Black and white photographic print of an unknown African American man at a June 1964 civil rights protest at the Piccadilly Cafeteria on Commerce Street in downtown Dallas. The image shows the man standing in front of a Piccadilly Cafeteria menu posted in a window stating, "Today's special; Meatballs and Spaghetti". Stamped in red ink on back of photo is the date "Jun 5 1964". | Source: The Portal to Texas History https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1390586/ | Creator: Dallas County Sheriff's Department June 5, 1964. View File Details Page
Woman at Piccadilly Cafeteria protest, June 4, 1964.
Dallas County Sheriff's Department Collection, Courtesy The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza.
Dallas County Sheriff's Department Collection, Courtesy The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza. Black and white photograph of a crowd of people participating in a June 1964 civil rights protest at the Piccadilly Cafeteria on Commerce Street in downtown Dallas. An unknown African American woman is in the center of the frame, facing the viewer. The doors to the cafeteria are visible behind her, being blocked by a white employee of the cafeteria. Several other white men are behind and next to the African American woman, and part of an African American man is visible at the left edge of the frame in the background. The date "Jun 4 1964" is stamped in red ink on the back of the photograph. | Source: The Portal to Texas History https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1390588/ | Creator: Dallas County Sheriff's Department June 4, 1964. View File Details Page
Two women observe the Piccadilly Cafeteria protests, June 4, 1964.
Dallas County Sheriff's Department Collection, Courtesy The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza.
Dallas County Sheriff's Department Collection, Courtesy The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza. Black and white photographic print of two women during a June 1964 civil rights protest at the Piccadilly Cafeteria on Commerce Street in downtown Dallas. The image shows the white women leaning against an open door. They are both looking down towards the street, possibly watching the protestors, as they each hold cigarettes. Stamped in red ink on back of photo is the date "Jun 4 1964". | Source: The Portal to Texas History https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1390419/ | Creator: Dallas County Sheriff's Department June 4, 1964. View File Details Page