From left to right: Jibreel Khazan (formerly Ezell Blair, Jr.), Franklin McCain, Joseph McNeill, and David Richmond. The movement was about simple dignity, respect, access, equal opportunity, and most importantly the legal and constitutional concerns., READ MORE:8 Steps That Paved the Way to the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Greensboro sit-in - Students | Britannica Kids | Homework Help 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. The Greensboro sit-in. July 1, 2020. WATCH: The Civil Rights Movement on HISTORY Vault. Updated: January 29, 2021 | Original: July 28, 2020. It's honored with a Google Doodle. Ezell A. Blair Jr. was one of the four African American college students who initiated the sit-in protest at Woolworth's lunch counter in Greensboro, North Carolina, on February 1, 1960. But they did not move. Commemorative Landscapes of North Carolina | Greensboro Four Monument 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. His breaking point was when he was not served a hot dog at the Greensboro bus terminal, according to Carolina Theatre. The sit-ins establish a crucial kind of leadership and organizing of young people, says Jeanne Theoharis, a Brooklyn College political science professor. 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.. By the end of March 1960, the movement had spread to 55 cities in 13 states. In 1991, Khazan received an honorary doctorate of humanities degree from North Carolina A&T State University. He married the former Lorraine France George of New Bedford. Movies. This was a forerunner to the 1961 Freedom Rides, just as the 1942 sit-in at the Jack Spratt Coffee House in Chicago was a forerunner to the Greensboro sit-in of 1960. 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. according to the Civil Rights Digital Library. They mean that young people are going to be one of the major driving forces in terms of how the civil rights movement is going to unfold., Listen to HISTORY This Week Podcast: Sitting in For Civil Rights. Khazan stated that he had seen a documentary on Mohandas Gandhi's use of "passive insistence" that had inspired him to act. By that time, Johns had already alerted the local media, who had arrived in full force to cover the events on television. Photo of Jibreel Khazan Receiving Award (Ezell Blair, Jr.) Description. 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. This page was last modified on 24 April 2023, at 04:46. Led by four North Carolina A&T Students - Joseph McNeil, Franklin McCain, Jibreel Khazan (then Ezell Blair, Jr.) and David Richmond, the nonviolent protests lasted over five months. North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, "Photo of Jibreel Khazan Receiving Award (Ezell Blair, Jr.)" (1961). Their names were Ezell Blair Jr., David Richmond, Franklin McCain and Joseph McNeil. in sociology in 1963. Then, the next day, they returned to do it all over again, according to CNN. 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. 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. Menu. [7] 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. We strive for accuracy and fairness. The students came to be called the Greensboro Four. Ezell A. Blair, Jr. is a well known Activist. He later moved to New Bedford, Massachusetts, where he changed his name to Jibreel Khazan. A Greensboro native, he graduated from Dudley High School and received a . Woolworth's store. 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. The February One Monument is an important landmark on A&T's campus that sets it apart from other institutions. In 1965, he moved to New Bedford, Massachusetts, where he worked as a teacher and counselor for the developmentally challenged. 2023, A&E Television Networks, LLC. 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. Report Video . 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. 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. Martin Luther King Jr. to join them in integrating the cafeteria at Richs Department Store in Atlanta in 1960, Guzmn says. 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. Google says they were also influenced by the techniques of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. 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. 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. Jibreel Khazan (Ezell Blair Jr.), one of the Greensboro Four 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. She is the author of Toni Morrison's Spiritual Vision and other books. But the students did not budge. According to History.com, they also were influenced by Mohandas Gandhi and the Freedom Riders and their principles of non-violent protest. From left to right: Jibreel Khazan (formerly Ezell Blair, Jr.), Franklin McCain, Joseph McNeill, and David Richmond. His life was threatened, so he moved to a mountain community, according to Carolina Theatre. In addition to desegregating dining establishments, the sit-ins led to the creation of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee in Raleigh. in sociology in 1963. 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., He was also influenced by Martin Luther King Jr. A Greensboro native, born in the city on October 18, 1941, Blair graduated from Dudley High School in Greensboro, North Carolina. TV Shows. Police arrested 41 students for trespassing at a Raleigh Woolworth. All Rights Reserved. A&T Four: A Closer Look | Digital Collections | North Carolina He changed his name to Jibreel Khazan and became involved in the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) and other civil rights organizations. [3][8] Today Khazan is an oral historian, oracle, Mass-Star Story teller and lecturer. As of 2018 Ezell Blair is 76 years years old. All four were students from North. Frye Gaillard, The Greensboro Four: Civil Rights Pioneers (Charlotte, N.C.: Main Street Rag Publishing Co., 2001); William H. Chafe, Civilities and Civil Rights: Greensboro, North Carolina, and the Black Struggle for Freedom (New York: Oxford University Press, 1980). [11], Khazan is married to the former Lorraine France George of New Bedford. 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 Woolworth. In addition, the four men each have residence halls named for them on the university campus. Today Khazan is an oral historian, oracle, Mass-Star Story teller and lecturer. 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. Robert Penn Warren Center for the Humanities 2023 |. Ezell Blair Jr. - Infogalactic: the planetary knowledge core 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. The reaction was ugly in the short-term, but in the long-term the protests spread and made real change. 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. Khazan received his early education from Dudley High School, where his father taught. Greensboro Four Biography | Infoplease Greensboro Sit-In: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know, Copyright 2023 Heavy, Inc. All rights reserved. Greensboro Four | NCpedia 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. Some content (or its descriptions) found on this site may be harmful and difficult to view. The students had received guidance from mentor activists and collaborated with students from Greensboro's all-women's Bennett College. In 1960, 4 young men sat at the Woolworth lunch counter in downtown For starters, according to History.com, they were upset about the 1955 murder of Emmett Till, who was slain after being accused of whistling at a white woman in Mississippi. His name is now Jibreel Khazan. 0 54. Did you know? 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. One of the original Greensboro Four who took part in the Woolworth sit-ins. 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. King's words had made a huge impact with Khazan, so much so that he later remarked that "he could feel his heart palpitating" and that the words of King "brought tears to his eyes.". Blair was president of the junior class, the student government association, the campus NAACP and the Greensboro Congress of Racial Equality. [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 were influenced by the nonviolent protest techniques of Mahatma Gandhi. In 1963, Khazan graduated from A&T College with a Bachelor's degree in sociology and Social Studies. See MoreSee Less. McCain was one of four N.C. A&T students who led sit-ins at the Woolworth lunch counter in downtown Greensboro in 1960. and received a B.S. 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 Hudgens had participated in the 1947 Journey of Reconciliation against racial segregation on interstate buses. See MoreSee Less, Neighborhood children greet Ms. Gibson upon her return to Harlem after winning Wimbledon in 1957 What sparked the Greensboro Four, as the students were known, to take such courageous action? Joseph McNeil Facts for Kids As its members faced increased violence, however, SNCC became more militant, and by the late 1960s it was advocating the Black Power philosophy of Stokely Carmichael (SNCCs chairman from 1966-67) and his successor, H. Rap Brown. After nearly a week of protests, approximately 1,400 students showed up to the Greensboro Woolworth to demonstrate. 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. By the spring of 1960 the sit-in movement spread to 54 cities in nine states in the South. 2023, A&E Television Networks, LLC. David Richmond, the fourth member and McCain's freshman college roommate, died in 1990. 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. It may be easy to think that the sit-ins were about eating next to white people or about a hotdog and a coke, but, of course, it was more complex than that, Guzmn says. The year was 1960, and segregation raged throughout the country, but the students decided they had had enough. As demonstrations spread to 13 states, the focus of the sit-ins expanded, with students not only protesting segregated lunch counters but also segregated hotels, beaches and libraries. Activist Ella Baker, then director of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, organized the youth-centered groups first meeting. Release Calendar Top 250 Movies Most Popular Movies Browse Movies by Genre Top Box Office Showtimes & Tickets Movie News India Movie Spotlight. Ezell Blair Jr. - Wikipedia Khazan was born Ezell Alexander Blair Jr. on October 18, 1941, in Greensboro, North Carolina. 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. These materials may be graphic or reflect biases. READ MORE: Civil Rights Movement: A Timeline. Khazans courageous actions helped to bring attention to the injustices of segregation and inspired others to join the fight for civil rights. Its success led to a wider sit-in movement, organized primarily by the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), that spread throughout the South. As he had been labeled a "troublemaker" for his role in the Greensboro Sit-Ins, life in Greensboro became difficult for Khazan. He continued his education at Massachusetts University and later at the New England Conservatory of Music, where he studied voice. They waited. Our Spectrum News app is the most convenient way to get the stories that matter to you. He attended law school at Howard University for almost a year before a variety of maladies forced him out. The sit-in protest continued for several days and soon spread throughout the South, sparking a new phase of the Civil Rights Movement. It was a small victoryand one that would build. The store manager then approached the men, asking them to leave. After graduating from A&T in 1963, Blair encountered difficulties finding a job in his native Greensboro. He also has worked with the AFL/CIO Trade Council in Boston, the Opportunities Industrialization Center, and at the Rodman Job Corps Center. Ezell A. Blair, Jr. | Who Speaks for the Negro? - Vanderbilt University They were influenced by the nonviolent protest techniques practiced by Mohandas Gandhi, as well as the Freedom Rides organized by the Congress for Racial Equality (CORE) in 1947, in which interracial activists rode across the South in buses to test a recent Supreme Court decision banning segregation in interstate bus travel. Joseph McNeil earned a degree in engineering physics in 1963 and joined the U.S. Air Force, where he became a captain. 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. Franklin McCain graduated from A&T with a degree in chemistry and biology. At the time of the protest, he was a student at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, where he was studying engineering. Together they have three children. In three days, their numbers had swelled to 300. Original materials provided by the University of Kentucky and Yale University libraries and digitized with the permission of the Warren estate. Eventually, they prevailed, and Woolworths stopped segregating its dining area on July 25th, 1960, Google reports. He continued his education at Massachusetts University and later at the New England Conservatory of Music, where he studied voice.[7]. 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. He had been a high school track star and was born in Greensboro. [1][2], Khazan was born Ezell Alexander Blair Jr. on October 18, 1941, in Greensboro, North Carolina. 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. Birthday: October 18, 1941 How Old - Age: 81 Recently Passed Away Celebrities and Famous People. About a dozen Bennett Belles were also arrested at area sit-ins. They were refused service and sat peacefully until the store closed. He was a student government leader. 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 SNCC was pivotal in pushing the Rev. They were all students at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University in Greensboro. Today, he is remembered as a hero of the Civil Rights Movement and a symbol of the power of nonviolent resistance to bring about change. Greensboro sit-in | History, Summary, Impact, & Facts Ezell A. Blair Jr / SamePassage 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. Jan 27, 2020. Biographies of the A&T Four Jibreel Khazan Jibreel Khazan (Ezell Blair, Jr.) was born in Greensboro, North Carolina on October 18, 1941.