Segregated lunch counters were a significant symbol of racial segregation in the United States during the Civil Rights Movement. These counters were found in restaurants, diners, and other public places where Black individuals were not allowed to sit and eat alongside white patrons.

One of the most famous examples of segregated lunch counters was at Woolworth's department store in Greensboro, North Carolina. In 1960, four Black college students staged a sit-in at the store's "whites only" lunch counter, sparking a wave of similar protests across the country. The sit-ins were a powerful form of nonviolent protest that drew attention to the injustices of segregation and helped to galvanize the Civil Rights Movement.

Segregated lunch counters were eventually desegregated as a result of the Civil Rights Movement and the passage of federal legislation, such as the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which outlawed discrimination based on race in public accommodations. The struggle against segregated lunch counters is an important part of Black history and the ongoing fight for racial equality in the United States.