How did student protesters and direct action shape the civil rights struggle in the south?

Student protestors played a huge role in bringing attention to social injustices faced by African-American citizens in the US. These students formed highly efficient organizations, such as the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. This popular organization helped to organize peaceful means of protests, including:

1) The March on Washington 1963
2)Freedom Rides 1961
3) Selma and Mississippi Freedom Summer campaigns.

Along with this, college students organized sit-ins at lunch counters where blacks were refused service. All of these actions resulted in confrontation between these peaceful protestors and citizens who were angry at their efforts to change southern society. This often resulted in violence against these students. However, their nonviolent tactics ended up working extremely well, as they continued to gain better rights throughout the 1960's.