Sit-in demonstrations by Black college students grew at the Woolworth's in Greensboro and other local stores, February 6, 1960. HISTORY.com works with a wide range of writers and editors to create accurate and informative content. The sit-in protest continued for several days and soon spread throughout the South, sparking a new phase of the Civil Rights Movement. We strive for accuracy and fairness. Nadra Nittle is a veteran journalist who is currently the education reporter for The 19th. 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.. Then, the next day, they returned to do it all over again, according to CNN. 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. In 1991, Khazan received an honorary doctorate of humanities degree from North Carolina A&T State University. See MoreSee Less, Today In HistoryEdward Kennedy Duke Ellington, the legendary composer and bandleader, was born in Washington, DC, on April 29, 1899. The Greensboro sit-ins are considered one of the biggest events of the Civil Rights Movement and set the standard for modern nonviolent protest and resistance. His life was threatened, so he moved to a mountain community, according to Carolina Theatre. Denied service, the four young men refused to give up their seats. David Richmond, the fourth member and McCain's freshman college roommate, died in 1990. 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 Ezell was born on October 18, 1941 in Greensboro, North Carolina.. Ezell is one of the famous and trending celeb who is popular for being a Activist. 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. They refused. [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. One member of the Greensboro Four, Joseph McNeil, resolved to integrate lunch counters after a 1959 trip to New York, a city where he hadnt encountered Jim Crow laws. On February 1, 1960, Blair, along with McNeil, Franklin and Richmond, took the bold step of violating the Greensboro Woolworth's segregation policy. He later moved to New Bedford, Massachusetts, where he changed his name to Jibreel Khazan. [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. As he had been labeled a "troublemaker" for his role in the Greensboro Sit-Ins, life in Greensboro became difficult for Khazan. According to History.com, they also were influenced by Mohandas Gandhi and the Freedom Riders and their principles of non-violent protest. Digital archive created and designed by the Robert Penn Warren Center for the Humanities at Vanderbilt University. In 1958, Khazan heard King speak at the local Bennett College. In 1965, he moved to New Bedford, Massachusetts, where he worked as a teacher and counselor for the developmentally challenged. He majored in business administration and accounting and became a counselor-coordinator for the CETA program in Greensboro. His 1964 interview describes the Greensboro sit-ins in Chapter 5 of Who Speaks for the Negro? 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. [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? 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. [5] His 1964 interview describes the Greensboro sit-ins in Chapter 5 of Who Speaks for the Negro? On February 1, 1960, Ezell Blair, Jr. (now Jibreel Khazan), David Richmond, Franklin McCain and Joseph McNeillater dubbed the Greensboro Fourbegan a sit-in at a Woolworth's lunch counter in. At the time of the protest, he was a student at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, where he was studying engineering. 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. 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. "[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. Today In HistoryRobert C. Maynard bought the Oakland Tribune on this date April 30, 1983. Ezell A. Blair Jr. was one of the four African American college students who initiated the sit-in protest at Woolworths lunch counter in Greensboro, North Carolina, on February 1, 1960. He lives in New York. This is the real beginnings of TV media; people can see the sit-in and imagine how they would do it themselves, said Theoharis, author of The Rebellious Life of Mrs. Rosa Parks. 2023, A&E Television Networks, LLC. He was a Major General in the Air Force Reserves and started diversity initiatives that changed the Air Force forever. 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. Lunch counter sit-ins then moved beyond Greensboro to North Carolina cities such as Charlotte, Durham and Winston-Salem. By the end of March 1960, the movement had spread to 55 cities in 13 states. The four men who were denied service at a Woolworth store in Greensboro, North Carolina, pose in front of the store on February 1, 1990. Release Calendar Top 250 Movies Most Popular Movies Browse Movies by Genre Top Box Office Showtimes & Tickets Movie News India Movie Spotlight. He married the former Lorraine France George of New Bedford. When four Black students refused to move from a segregated Woolworth's lunch counter in 1960, nation-wide student activism gained momentum. 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. All Rights Reserved. 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. He had been a high school track star and was born in Greensboro. 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. Recommended Citation. Khazan works with developmentally disabled people for the CETA program in New Bedford, Mass. He attended law school at Howard University for almost a year before a variety of maladies forced him out. He worked as a janitor and battled many demons, sad that he couldnt improve the world more than he had. 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), North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, 1942 sit-in at the Jack Spratt Coffee House, Follow the Freedom Riders' Journey Against Segregation, Woman's College of the University of North Carolina, 1,400 students showed up to the Greensboro Woolworth, Police arrested 41 students for trespassing, Greensboro Woolworth lunch counter was finally integrated, integrating the cafeteria at Richs Department Store, 8 Steps That Paved the Way to the Civil Rights Act of 1964, https://www.history.com/news/greensboro-four-sit-in-civil-rights, How the Greensboro Four Sit-In Sparked a Movement. The Greensboro Fours efforts inspired a sit-in movement that eventually spread to 55 cities in 13 states. The Greensboro Four wanted their protest to get recognition, so before heading to Woolworths on February 1, they arranged for Ralph Johns, a white businessman and activist, to alert the press about their plans. In addition, the four men each have residence halls named for them on the university campus. In 1965, he moved to New Bedford, Massachusetts, where he worked as a teacher and counselor for the developmentally challenged. She is the author of Toni Morrison's Spiritual Vision and other books. Khazans courageous actions helped to bring attention to the injustices of segregation and inspired others to join the fight for civil rights. 0. Menu. [4] Shortly before his death, McCain was interviewed by his granddaughter, Taylor, who asked him to define freedom. The reaction was ugly in the short-term, but in the long-term the protests spread and made real change. A look at one of the defining social movements in U.S. history, told through the personal stories of men, women and children who lived through it. Download it here. Original materials provided by the University of Kentucky and Yale University libraries and digitized with the permission of the Warren estate. 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. 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. We provide access to these materials to preserve the historical record, but we do not endorse the attitudes, prejudices, or behaviors found within them. After the Greensboro sit-ins, Blair became a prominent civil rights activist and organizer. See MoreSee Less. As the week unfolded, dozens of young people, including students from the Woman's College of the University of North Carolina, flocked to lunch counters and asked to be served. Counters in other cities did the same in subsequent months. By that time, Johns had already alerted the local media, who had arrived in full force to cover the events on television. Updated: January 25, 2022 | Original: February 4, 2010. 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. HISTORY reviews and updates its content regularly to ensure it is complete and accurate. From left to right: Jibreel Khazan (formerly Ezell Blair, Jr.), Franklin McCain, Joseph McNeill, and David Richmond. All articles are regularly reviewed and updated by the HISTORY.com team. They waited some more. [9] In 2010, Khazan was the recipient of the James Smithson Bicentennial Medal from the Smithsonian Institution. The students came to be called the Greensboro Four. Another critical part of the protest was looping in the media. It's honored with a Google Doodle. Blair was president of the junior class, the student government association, the campus NAACP and the Greensboro Congress of Racial Equality. He continued his education at Massachusetts University and later at the New England Conservatory of Music, where he studied voice.[7]. Martin Luther King Jr. to join them in integrating the cafeteria at Richs Department Store in Atlanta in 1960, Guzmn says. 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. They also did not give up their seats when a police officer arrived and menacingly slapped his nightstick against his hand directly behind them. His breaking point was when he was not served a hot dog at the Greensboro bus terminal, according to Carolina Theatre. Over the next few years, SNCC served as one of the leading forces in the civil rights movement, organizing Freedom Rides through the South in 1961 and the historic March on Washington in 1963, at which Martin Luther King Jr. gave his seminal I Have a Dream speech. 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. Our Spectrum News app is the most convenient way to get the stories that matter to you. Their names were Ezell Blair Jr., David Richmond, Franklin McCain and Joseph McNeil. On Feb. 1, 1960, freshmen David Richmond, Franklin McCain, Joseph McNeil and Ezell Blair Jr. (now Jibreel Khazan) sat at F.W. But the acts of intimidation didnt stop the movement from building. But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us! BlackPast.org is a 501(c)(3) non-profit and our EIN is 26-1625373. In three days, their numbers had swelled to 300. After graduating from A&T in 1963, Blair encountered difficulties finding a job in his native Greensboro. By the spring of 1960 the sit-in movement spread to 54 cities in nine states in the South. The university. 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. North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, "Photo of Jibreel Khazan Receiving Award (Ezell Blair, Jr.)" (1961). He was a student government leader. [3][8] Today Khazan is an oral historian, oracle, Mass-Star Story teller and lecturer. Jan 27, 2020. 20072023 Blackpast.org. In 1959, Khazan graduated from James B. Dudley High School, and entered the A&T College of North Carolina. ", North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, "FebruaryOne: The Story of the Greensboro Four", "50 years later, Greensboro Four get Smithsonian award for civil rights actions", "New Bedford Must Lift Up Celebration of Dr. Jibreel Khazan With a Statue", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ezell_Blair_Jr.&oldid=1143803857, This page was last edited on 10 March 2023, at 00:30. Khazan stated that he had seen a documentary on Mohandas Gandhi's use of "passive insistence" that had inspired him to act. 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. 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.". The February One Monument is an important landmark on A&T's campus that sets it apart from other institutions. We strive for accuracy and fairness. He was a student government leader. At the time of the protest, he was a student at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, where he was studying engineering. The four North Carolina A & T students are (L-R): David Richmond, Franklin McCain, Ezell Blair, Jr., and Joseph McNeil. McCain was one of four N.C. A&T students who led sit-ins at the Woolworth lunch counter in downtown Greensboro in 1960. 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. Its use of nonviolence inspired the Freedom Riders and others to take up the cause of integration in the South, furthering the cause of equal rights in the United States. 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. Greensboro sit-in, act of nonviolent protest against a segregated lunch counter in Greensboro, North Carolina, that began on February 1, 1960. The figures are depicted walking out of Woolworth'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 denying service to non-white customers. The Greensboro sit-in was a major moment in the Civil Rights Movement. He was captivated as King addressed the audience in attendance. He then went into computer sales and worked as a stockbroker and commercial banker. Khazan received his early education from Dudley High School, where his father taught. Please ignore rumors and hoaxes.