IMO that’s why it’s 3 sides.

The first side is the black people who want to be able to sit at the same counter as other people and order lunch.

The second side is the white people who want to keep the apartheid system in place.

The third side is the white people who were willing to take the abuse in order to be allies to the black people who were facing the discrimination.

To me, the allies are a different group. They are putting themselves in harm’s way for an abstract principle.