While a student at A & T he was elected to attend the meeting at Shaw University in Raleigh at which the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) was formed. It was a small victoryand one that would build. We provide access to these materials to preserve the historical record, but we do not endorse the attitudes, prejudices, or behaviors found within them. In 1958, Khazan heard King speak at the local Bennett College. Jibreel Khazan (born Ezell Alexander Blair Jr.; October 18, 1941) is a civil rights activist who is best known as a member of the Greensboro Four; a group of African American college students who, on February 1, 1960, sat down at a segregated Woolworth's lunch counter in downtown Greensboro, North Carolina challenging the store's policy of It was during his freshman year that Khazan and his roommate, Joseph McNeil; along with two other associates, Franklin McCain and David Richmond, devised a plan to protest against the policies of the segregated lunch counter at the downtown Greensboro F. W. Woolworth's store. Google He was a student government leader. [10] On October 12, 2021, Khazan was honored with the renaming of a city park in the west end of New Bedford, MA. On Feb. 1, 1960, freshmen David Richmond, Franklin McCain, Joseph McNeil and Ezell Blair Jr. (now Jibreel Khazan) sat at F.W. The sit-in movement soon spread to college towns throughout the South. Not only were lunch counters across the country integrated one by one, a student movement was galvanized. Khazan stated that he had seen a documentary on Mohandas Gandhi's use of "passive insistence" that had inspired him to act. HISTORY.com works with a wide range of writers and editors to create accurate and informative content. Woolworth. They told him to do what he must and to carry himself with dignity and grace. Notes about review of interview transcripts with Carmichael, Ezell Blair, Lucy Thornton, and Jean Wheeler. It was said that when he experienced unjust treatment based on color, he "stood up." At the end of July, when many local college students were on summer vacation, the Greensboro Woolworths quietly integrated its lunch counter. Multiple lunch counter sit-ins had taken place in the Midwest, East Coast and South in the 1940s and 1950s, but these demonstrations didnt garner national attention. All Rights Reserved. [9] In 2010, Khazan was the recipient of the James Smithson Bicentennial Medal from the Smithsonian Institution. Articles with the HISTORY.com Editors byline have been written or edited by the HISTORY.com editors, including Amanda Onion, Missy Sullivan and Matt Mullen. African American History: Research Guides & Websites, Global African History: Research Guides & Websites, African American Scientists and Technicians of the Manhattan Project, Envoys, Diplomatic Ministers, & Ambassadors, North Carolina Agricultural & Technical State University, Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), Education - Historically Black Colleges (HBCU), Foundation, Organization, and Corporate Supporters. Ezell Blair Jr.. Self: February One: The Story of the Greensboro Four. Part of the original counter is on display at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C. Blair, Richmond, McCain and McNeil planned their protest carefully, and enlisted the help of a local white businessman, Ralph Johns, to put their plan into action. Martin Luther King Jr. to join them in integrating the cafeteria at Richs Department Store in Atlanta in 1960, Guzmn says. Google says they were also influenced by the techniques of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. He also has worked with the AFL/CIO Trade Council in Boston, the Opportunities Industrialization Center, and at the Rodman Job Corps Center. Updated: January 29, 2021 | Original: July 28, 2020. Today In HistoryRobert C. Maynard bought the Oakland Tribune on this date April 30, 1983. 0. The reaction was ugly in the short-term, but in the long-term the protests spread and made real change. He lives in New York. SNCC also pushed King to take a more forceful stance against the war in Vietnam in 1967 and popularized the slogan Black Power! in 1966.. Our Spectrum News app is the most convenient way to get the stories that matter to you. But the students did not budge. His 1964 interview describes the Greensboro sit-ins in Chapter 5 of Who Speaks for the Negro? Its success led to a wider sit-in movement, organized primarily by the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), that spread throughout the South. They were refused service and sat peacefully until the store closed. After graduating from A&T in 1963, Blair encountered difficulties finding a job in his native Greensboro. He was 49 years old when he died in 1990 and received a posthumous honorary doctorate degree from At&T State University. One of the original Greensboro Four who took part in the Woolworth sit-ins. On February 1, 1960, David Richmond, Franklin McCain, Ezell Blair Jr. (Jibreel Khazan), and Joe McNeil, four African American students from North Carolina A&T State University, staged a sit-in in Greensboro at Woolworth, a popular retail store that was known for refusing to serve African Americans at its lunch counter. It is reported that as a nine-year-old he boasted to friends that he would one day drink from the white peoples fountains and eat at their lunch counters. Blair was the most uncertain of the four who decided to stage the Woolworth protest, and recalls calling his parents to ask their advice. Ezell A. Blair, Jr. is a well known Activist. He graduated from James B. Dudley High School in 1959 and began his freshman year at A&T College having received an A&T College Alumni Association Scholarship. [3] His father was a member of the NAACP and very vocal on the subject of racial injustices and "things naturally rubbed off on me", described Khazan in a 1974 interview. They had a strong Black community in Greensboro that was steeped in the struggle and willing to support young people by way of moral and financial support, says Prairie View A&M University History Professor Will Guzmn. The sit-in protest continued for several days and soon spread throughout the South, sparking a new phase of the Civil Rights Movement. HISTORY reviews and updates its content regularly to ensure it is complete and accurate. They also worked with the NAACP to get the 1964 Civil Rights Act passed. All Rights Reserved. (No photographers were allowed into Woolworth's during this first protest; this is the only photo of all four original protesters together.). Blair, along with Joseph McNeil, Franklin McCain, and David Richmond, decided to stage the sit-in protest as a way of challenging the racial segregation that was prevalent in their community. He was elected president of the junior class, and would later become president of the school's student government association, the campus NAACP and the Greensboro Congress for Racial Equality. It's honored with a Google Doodle. The protests and the subsequent events were major milestones in the Civil Rights Movement. BlackPast.org is a 501(c)(3) non-profit and our EIN is 26-1625373. The Greensboro sit-in was a civil rights protest that started in 1960, when young African American students staged a sit-in at a segregated Woolworths lunch counter in Greensboro, North Carolina, and refused to leave after being denied service. Description. He was captivated as King addressed the audience in attendance. It took months, but on July 25, 1960, the Greensboro Woolworth lunch. and received a B.S. Khazan was born Ezell Alexander Blair Jr. on October 18, 1941, in Greensboro, North Carolina. Image: Original caption: 2/1/1960 - Greensboro, NC: The participants in the first lunch counter sit-in are shown on the street after leaving the Greensboro, North Carolina Woolworth's by a side exit. She is the author of Toni Morrison's Spiritual Vision and other books. The four North Carolina A & T students are (L-R): David Richmond, Franklin McCain, Ezell Blair, Jr., and Joseph McNeil. [4] Shortly before his death, McCain was interviewed by his granddaughter, Taylor, who asked him to define freedom. About a dozen Bennett Belles were also arrested at area sit-ins. We even had people who saw the sit-ins that were taking place at the lunch counter drive from other states to come down here, Swaine says. Touring history with Avett Brothers' bassist Bob Crawford. SNCC was pivotal in pushing the Rev. 0 54. SNCC activists such as John Lewis took part in the 1961 Freedom Rides, the 1963 March on Washington, and the 1963 Freedom Summer effort. The sit-ins establish a crucial kind of leadership and organizing of young people, says Jeanne Theoharis, a Brooklyn College political science professor. 2023, Charter Communications, all rights reserved. In 1958, Khazan heard King speak at the local Bennett College. Spectrum News Text and Email Alerts Sign-up, California Consumer Limit the Use of My Sensitive Personal Information, California Consumer Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. He was elected president of the junior class, and would later become president of the school's student government association, the campus NAACP and the Greensboro Congress for Racial Equality. In response to the success of the sit-in movement, dining facilities across the South were being integrated by the summer of 1960. The February One Monument is an important landmark on A&T's campus that sets it apart from other institutions. The four students were inspired by the nonviolent teachings of Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr., and they believed that peaceful direct action was the best way to bring about change. North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, "Photo of Jibreel Khazan Receiving Award (Ezell Blair, Jr.)" (1961). Four years later, The Civil Rights Act of 1964 would mandate all businesses to desegregate. Joseph McNeil earned a degree in engineering physics in 1963 and joined the U.S. Air Force, where he became a captain. Her writing has appeared in The Guardian, NBC News, The Atlantic, Business Insider and other outlets. Though many of the protesters were arrested for trespassing, disorderly conduct or disturbing the peace, their actions made an immediate and lasting impact, forcing Woolworths and other establishments to change their segregationist policies. In 1968, he joined the Islamic Center of New England and changed his name to Jibreel Khazan. Blair and the other three students were refused service when they sat down at Woolworths lunch counter, but they refused to leave and stayed at the counter until the store closed. In three days, their numbers had swelled to 300. Find History on Facebook (Opens in a new window), Find History on Twitter (Opens in a new window), Find History on YouTube (Opens in a new window), Find History on Instagram (Opens in a new window), Find History on TikTok (Opens in a new window), first sit-ins during the civil rights movement, https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/the-greensboro-sit-in. We strive for accuracy and fairness. In addition, the four men each have residence halls named for them on the university campus. Word quickly spread about the Greensboro sit-in, and both North Carolina A&T and Bennett College students took part in the sit-in the next day. In late 1959, the Greensboro Four participated in NAACP meetings at Bennett College, where they collaborated with the women students known as the Bennett Belles on a plan. Joseph Alfred McNeil (born March 25, 1942) is a retired major general in the United States Air Force who is best known for being a member of the Greensboro Four; a group of African American college students who, on February 1, 1960, sat down at a segregated Woolworth's lunch counter in downtown Greensboro, North Carolina challenging the store's in sociology from North Carolina Agricultural & Technical State University in 1963. But the acts of intimidation didnt stop the movement from building. In February 1960, while an 18 year-old freshman at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical College (A&T), Blair and three other students began a sit-in protest at the lunch counter of a Woolworths store in Greensboro, North Carolina. McCain's death left Ezell Blair (now Jibreel Khazan) and Joseph McNeil as the two surviving members of the Greensboro Four. Robert C. Maynard, the first African American editor and owner of a major daily newspaper in the United States, was known as a trailblazing journalist who led efforts to desegregate newsrooms and educ Duke Ellington, byname of Edward Kennedy Ellington, (born April 29, 1899, Washington, D.C., U.S.died May 24, 1974, New York, N.Y.), American pianist who was the greatest jazz composer and bandleade Frances role in the Trans Atlantic Slave, African Chiefs role in the Trans Atlantic, sit-in protest at Woolworths lunch counter, Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), Neighborhood children greet Ms. Gibson upon her return to Harlem after winning Wimbledon in 1957. In 1968, he joined the Islamic Center of New England and changed his name to Jibreel Khazan. While lunch counter sit-ins had taken place before, the four young men from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University drew national attention to the cause. By February 5, some 300 students had joined the protest at Woolworths, paralyzing the lunch counter and other local businesses. [5] Khazan stated that he had seen a documentary on Mohandas Gandhi's use of "passive insistence" that had inspired him to act. This monument provides a larger-than-life portrayal of Jibreel Khazan (then known as Ezell Blair Jr.), Franklin McCain, Joseph McNeil and David Richmond, four NC A&T students who became known as the "Greensboro Four" for their sit-in at Woolworth's department store in 1960. Movies. Together they have three children. As he had been labeled a "troublemaker" for his role in the Greensboro Sit-Ins, life in Greensboro became difficult for Khazan. Denied service, the four young men refused to give up their seats. After graduation, He briefly studied law at Howard University Law School in Washington, DC. Greensboro sit-in, act of nonviolent protest against a segregated lunch counter in Greensboro, North Carolina, that began on February 1, 1960. Upon his return to North Carolina, the Greensboro Trailways Bus Terminal Cafe denied him service at its lunch counter, making him determined to fight segregation. He went on to work for Celanese Corporation in Charlotte, North Carolina for 35 years, and he stayed active in the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund. Blair then moved to New Bedford, Massachusetts, where he became a member of the New England Islamic Center in 1968 and took on his present name of Jibreel Khazan. He had been a high school track star and was born in Greensboro. The Greensboro sit-in was a major moment in the American civil rights movement when young African-American students staged a sit-in at a segregated Woolworths lunch counter in North Carolina. The sit-ins not only attracted new protesters, they also drew counter-protesters who showed up to harass, insult and assault them. [12], "Civil Rights Greensboro: Jibreel Khazan", University of North Carolina at Greensboro, "Jibreel Khazan (Formerly Ezell Blair Jr.)", "Oral History Interview with Jibreel Khazan by William Chafe:: Civil Rights Greensboro", "Ezell Blair, Stokely Carmichael, Lucy Thornton and Jean Wheeler | Who Speaks for the Negro? They were students at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical College. Powered by. According to Google, hundreds of other protesters soon joined them, but the protesters faced a counter movement that included racial slurs being hurled in their direction and even were spit on and had food thrown on them. The Greensboro sit-in is the subject of a Google Doodle on February 1, 2020 for the 60th anniversary of the action. A small donation would help us keep this available to all. Heavy television coverage of the Greensboro sit-ins sparked a sit-in movement that quickly spread to college towns throughout the South and into the North, as young Black and white people joined in various forms of peaceful protest against segregation in libraries, beaches, hotels and other establishments. Today Khazan is an oral historian, oracle, Mass-Star Story teller and lecturer. A Greensboro native, he graduated from Dudley High School and received a . [5] His 1964 interview describes the Greensboro sit-ins in Chapter 5 of Who Speaks for the Negro? He had to move to Massachusetts because the publicity made it. They also did not give up their seats when a police officer arrived and menacingly slapped his nightstick against his hand directly behind them. "[5] Khazan also recalls an American Civics teacher, Mrs. McCullough, who told her class Were preparing you for the day when you will have equal rights.[1], He was also influenced by Martin Luther King Jr. Some of the first sit-ins during the civil rights movementwere organized by history teacher Clara Luper and the NAACP Youth Council in Oklahoma City in1958. Sit-in demonstrations by Black college students grew at the Woolworth's in Greensboro and other local stores, February 6, 1960. They were asked to leave. Franklin McCain graduated from A&T with a degree in chemistry and biology. Some content (or its descriptions) found on this site may be harmful and difficult to view. Though many were arrested for trespassing, disorderly conduct or disturbing the peace, national media coverage of the sit-ins brought increasing attention to the civil rights movement. The Greensboro Fours efforts inspired a sit-in movement that eventually spread to 55 cities in 13 states. On February 1, 1960, four Black college freshmen, Joseph McNeil, Franklin McCain, Ezell Blair Jr. and David Richmond, sat down at a "whites-only" Woolworths lunch counter in Greensboro, N.C. and politely asked for service. Birthday: October 18, 1941 How Old - Age: 81 Recently Passed Away Celebrities and Famous People. 2023, A&E Television Networks, LLC. Ezell Blair is a member of famous Activist list. On Feb. 1, 1960 four Black freshmen at North Carolina A&T State University, Franklin McCain, Joseph McNeil, Ezell Blair, Jr., and David Richmond, took seats at the segregated lunch counter of F. W. Woolworth's in Greensboro, N.C. Jibreel Khazan (previously Ezell Blair, Jr). They refused to leave when denied service and stayed until the store closed. He was captivated as King addressed the audience in attendance. Jibreel Khazan (born Ezell Alexander Blair Jr.; October 18, 1941) is a civil rights activist who is best known as a member of the Greensboro Four, a group of African American college students who, on February 1, 1960, sat down at a segregated Woolworth's lunch counter in downtown Greensboro, North Carolina challenging the store's policy of denying service to non-white customers. They also took inspiration from civil rights causes of years earlier, including the 1955 lynching of Emmett Till and the Montgomery bus boycott. Original materials provided by the University of Kentucky and Yale University libraries and digitized with the permission of the Warren estate. His breaking point was when he was not served a hot dog at the Greensboro bus terminal, according to Carolina Theatre. He was a student government leader. SNCC worked alongside the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) to push passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and would later mount an organized resistance to the Vietnam War. In 2002, North Carolina A&T commissioned a statue to be sculpted honoring Khazan, along with the three other members of the A&T four: Franklin McCain, Joseph McNeil, and David Richmond. The Greensboro Four were four young Black men who staged the first sit-in at Greensboro: Ezell Blair Jr., David Richmond, Franklin McCain and Joseph McNeil. According to PBS.org, the police were called but were unable to take action against the four students due to lack of provocation. Woolworths closed early that day. Jibreel Khazan (born Ezell Alexander Blair Jr.; October 18, 1941) is a civil rights activist who is best known as a member of the Greensboro Four; a group of African American college students who, on February 1, 1960, sat down at a segregated Woolworth's lunch counter in downtown Greensboro, North Carolina challenging the store's policy of denying service to non-white customers. The Greensboro Four, as they became known, had also been spurred to action by the brutal murder in 1955 of a young Black boy, Emmett Till, who had allegedly whistled at a white woman in a Mississippi store. They waited some more. The next day, they returned to the store with more students and continued their sit-in protest. No one would serve them. Jibreel Khazan (born Ezell Alexander Blair Jr.; October 18, 1941) is a civil rights activist who is best known as a member of the Greensboro Four, a group of African American college students who, on February 1, 1960, sat down at a segregated Woolworth's lunch counter in downtown Greensboro, North Carolina challenging the store's policy of After the Greensboro sit-ins, Blair became a prominent civil rights activist and organizer. Read more, Greensboro Voices: Voicing Observations in Civil Rights and Equality struggles, Greensboro Public Library (Greensboro, N.C.), Oral history interview with Ezell and Corene Blair, Records that have the exact phrase Montgomery Bus Boycott, Records with the word integration that also contain the words Albany and/or Augusta, Records with the name King but not the name Martin, Records containing the phrase Freedom Rides and the name Carter, Records containing the words Selma and Lewis or Selma and Williams, Use quotation marks to search as a phrase, Use "+" before a term to make it required (Otherwise results matching only some of your terms may be included), Use "-" before a word or phrase to exclude, Use "OR", "AND", and "NOT" (must be capitalized) to create complex boolean logic, You can use parentheses in your complex expressions, Truncation and wildcards are not supported. Police arrived on the scene but were unable to take action due to the lack of provocation. His life was threatened, so he moved to a mountain community, according to Carolina Theatre. The year was 1960, and segregation raged throughout the country, but the students decided they had had enough. By Birth Year | By Birth Month | By Death Year | By Death Month | Random, Contact Us | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Copyright. Counters in other cities did the same in subsequent months. Get the latest news, sports and weather delivered straight to your inbox. Robert Penn Warren Center for the Humanities 2023 |. Another critical part of the protest was looping in the media. Greensboro Sit-In: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know, Copyright 2023 Heavy, Inc. All rights reserved. David Richmond, the fourth member and McCain's freshman college roommate, died in 1990. [1][2], Khazan was born Ezell Alexander Blair Jr. on October 18, 1941, in Greensboro, North Carolina. [11], Khazan is married to the former Lorraine France George of New Bedford. They waited. Menu. Ezell Blair begins this interview by describing his participation in the Greensboro student sit-in and describes the students Ezell Blair, Stokely Carmichael, Lucy Thornton and Jean Wheeler. Digital archive created and designed by the Robert Penn Warren Center for the Humanities at Vanderbilt University. Khazan works with developmentally disabled people for the CETA program in New Bedford, Mass. See MoreSee Less. David Richmond died young. He worked as a janitor and battled many demons, sad that he couldnt improve the world more than he had. The white waiter refused and suggested they order a take-out meal from the "stand-up" counter. On February 1, 1960, four college students - Ezell Blair, Jr. (now Jibreel Khazan), David Richmond, Franklin McCain and Joseph McNeil - sat read more. The students came to be called the Greensboro Four. Woolworth's store. Woolworth's whites-only lunch counter in Greensboro to protest segregation. He changed his name to Jibreel Khazan and became involved in the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) and other civil rights organizations. The university. McCain was one of four N.C. A&T students who led sit-ins at the Woolworth lunch counter in downtown Greensboro in 1960. He then went into computer sales and worked as a stockbroker and commercial banker. Together they have three children. There were also sit-ins in Philadelphia, Baltimore, St. Louis and Columbia, Missouri, says John L. Swaine, CEO of the International Civil Rights Center & Museum. Each of the participants in the sit-in had different catalysts, but it is clear that the four men had a close friendship that mutually reinforced their desire to act. He participated in Freedom Rides, voter registration drives, and other forms of nonviolent direct action to challenge segregation and promote equality and justice for all. Ezell Blair Jr. Jibreel Khazan (born Ezell Alexander Blair Jr.; October 18, 1941) is a civil rights activist who is best known as a member of the Greensboro Four; a group of African American college students who, on February 1, 1960, sat down at a segregated Woolworth's lunch counter in downtown Greensboro, North Carolina challenging the store . To capitalize on the momentum of the sit-in movement, the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) was founded in Raleigh, North Carolina, in April 1960. Hudgens had participated in the 1947 Journey of Reconciliation against racial segregation on interstate buses. Jan 27, 2020. As he had been labeled a "troublemaker" for his role in the Greensboro Sit-Ins, life in Greensboro became difficult for Khazan. Forego a bottle of soda and donate its cost to us for the information you just learned, and feel good about helping to make it available to everyone. On February 1st, 1960 in Greensboro, North Carolina, four A&T freshmen students, Ezell Blair, Jr. (Jibreel Khazan), Franklin McCain, Joseph McNeil and David Richmond walked downtown and "sat - in" at the whites-only lunch counter at F.W. They refused. He continued his education at Massachusetts University and later at the New England Conservatory of Music, where he studied voice. He attended law school at Howard University for almost a year before a variety of maladies forced him out. The former Woolworth's in Greensboro now houses the International Civil Rights Center and Museum, which features a restored version of the lunch counter where the Greensboro Four sat.