The late 1950s and early 1960s were a time of profound growth for the civil rights movement in the United States. Although racial segregation in the public schools had been outlawed in 1954, the ruling applied only to this one category of discriminatory practice in U.S. society. But it furthered within the ones, and generated support for the civil rights movement among many new segments of the populace.
Initiated by four students of the North Carolina Agricultural and Technical College, the first sit-in occurred at a lunch counter in February 1960. Sit-ins then spread rapidly through the southern U.S., involving over 70,000 participants by August 1961. The sit-ins provided an important model for nonviolent protest and showed students that they Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, and the birth of a second form of sit-ins called Freedom Rides.
The formation of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee followed the first sit-in by just a few months and not only solidified student involvement in the civil rights movement but also placed students in leadership roles for the first time. It operated independently of other civil rights organizations and relied on strong local their elders alike, examples of the methods they might use to achieve a more equal society.
What this question is testing
Anticipate
The passage literally calls the Freedom Rides "a second form of sit-ins." They used the same technique -- occupying 'whites only' seats -- just on buses instead of at lunch counters. If that does not imply they were modeled on the original sit-ins, nothing does.
Goal
Find the inference that follows from "second form of sit-ins" and the shared seat-occupation technique.
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