Former Tampa congressman Jim Davis said few people seem to know the story of the F.W. Woolworth sit-in.
But now, that story will take center stage at the Straz Center for the Performing Arts, sharing how the peaceful protest helped change history during the Civil Rights Movement.
“When The Righteous Triumph” focuses on a protest that started Feb. 29, 1960.
A lawyer, 50 Black high school students and a reverend were among those taking part in the first sit-in, advocating to be able to dine at the department store’s segregated lunch counter.
Over the following week, they were joined by more students and Tampa Police sent by then Mayor Julian Lane, who wanted to keep the protest peaceful.
Tampa playwright and University of South Florida English professor Mark Leib began writing “When the Righteous Triumph” in 2021. But, he was inspired years prior.
While he was studying the Bible in 2018, he read about how God wants people to be concerned with social issues.
The title takes its name from Proverbs 28:12, which reads “When the righteous triumph, there is great elation, but when the wicked rise to power, people go into hiding.”
After writing one play about social justice, he wanted to write another with a specific connection to his hometown.
Then, he stumbled on a book about the F.W. Woolworth lunch counter sit-in.
"As I read it, I thought, 'Well, what a good idea for a play,'” Leib said. “We could have Woolworth Counter center stage and do a lot with main figures who took part in the sit-ins.”
The play debuted at Stageworks Theatre in 2023 and ran for two weeks.
Davis was part of the team that helped raise $500,000 to bring the story back to the stage in 2025 at the Straz Center.
Davis said the play portrays his grandfather, Cody Fowler, almost perfectly, even down to the way he leans back in his chair.
“I was stunned because I felt like I was in the room again with my grandfather,” he said.
Fowler was one of the leaders who guided the peaceful demonstration on Franklin Street. He also led state and city biracial commissions.
"My grandfather was in the right place at the right time to do the right thing,” he said. “And you may be one of these days too."
Davis said his grandfather inspired him, so the message of the play is one he strongly believes in.
“The values that my grandfather and these folks demonstrated in this play are my values and the values my wife and I tried to instill in our two sons,” he said.
There will be public showings of the play, as well as private performances for over 30 Tampa schools.
He said some Tampa high schools said they want to send around 10,000 students, but the theater can only accommodate 2,000 of them.
Davis said parents should use their discretion in allowing their kids to attend. He mentions strong language and one violent scene in which the Ku Klux Klan tries to kill one of the protest leaders off-stage.
And while civil rights and Black history lessons are being scrutinized on a state and national level today, Davis said the play's message is not an issue.
"We teach the history of civil rights in our schools but we've never had a local story to tie it to. And what our students like is authenticity,” he said. “And the fact that this happened near them, in some cases, very near them, is very important and impactful."
Beulah Baptist Church Rev. A. Leon Lowry called for the sit-in and supported students from Middleton and Blake High Schools who participated.
He also taught Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and was considered one of Tampa’s most influential activists.
His widow, Shirley Lowry, said her husband was determined to get people the rights to do what they wanted to do.
She said he was also determined to guide the students involved, while maintaining a non-violent demonstration.
"His whole life was about making a difference for others and, most of all, making sure that children of our future have the rights that they did not have,” Lowry said.
She said seeing her husband’s life performed on stage is “wonderful” and “a tear-jerker.”
“It’s motivating,” she added. “I love it. I absolutely love it. And it makes me so very proud of him.”
Lowry will also participate in Q&A sessions which will be hosted after certain shows.
She said she hopes students ask how a play about a sit-in 65 years ago relates to today.
“Some rights are being violated here,” she said. “There's some people that do not have a voice and I think this story kind of shows that students have a voice now.”
Davis added the play is fitting, not just for Black History Month, but year-round.
“This is not Black history,” he said. “This is Tampa history. It is Black, white. It is brown. It is our history. It is everybody’s history.”
WEDU PBS is recording one of the performances, and creating an accompanying docuseries, which Lowry said will allow the play to live on, even after the curtain closes.
“When the Righteous Triumph” will run from March 6-9 at the Straz Center’s Jaeb Theater. There will be performances at 7:30 p.m. March 6, 7 and 8 and matinee performances at 2 p.m. March 8 and 9. Tickets can be bought online.
