They waited. We strive for accuracy and fairness. McCain's death left Ezell Blair (now Jibreel Khazan) and Joseph McNeil as the two surviving members of the Greensboro Four. The Greensboro Fours efforts inspired a sit-in movement that eventually spread to 55 cities in 13 states. 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. According to History.com, they also were influenced by Mohandas Gandhi and the Freedom Riders and their principles of non-violent protest. Greensboro Sit-In: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know, Copyright 2023 Heavy, Inc. All rights reserved. [5] His 1964 interview describes the Greensboro sit-ins in Chapter 5 of Who Speaks for the Negro? Blair was president of the junior class, the student government association, the campus NAACP and the Greensboro Congress of Racial Equality. 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. The protests and the subsequent events were major milestones in the Civil Rights Movement. They were all students at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University in Greensboro. The sit-in movement soon spread to college towns throughout the South. Jibreel Khazan (Ezell Blair Jr.), one of the Greensboro Four 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. Another critical part of the protest was looping in the media. 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. All Rights Reserved. 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.". On Feb. 1, 1960, freshmen David Richmond, Franklin McCain, Joseph McNeil and Ezell Blair Jr. (now Jibreel Khazan) sat at F.W. 2023, Charter Communications, all rights reserved. by mcgorry. GREENSBORO Civil rights leader Franklin McCain has died. The Greensboro Four, as they came to be known, acted to challenge the lunch counters refusal to serve African Americans. They waited some more. In 1958, Khazan heard King speak at the local Bennett College. The sit-in protest continued for several days and soon spread throughout the South, sparking a new phase of the Civil Rights Movement. according to the Civil Rights Digital Library. They were refused service and sat peacefully until the store closed. Report Video . Powered by. 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. Greensboro Four | NCpedia But the acts of intimidation didnt stop the movement from building. The sit-ins establish a crucial kind of leadership and organizing of young people, says Jeanne Theoharis, a Brooklyn College political science professor. 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. The white waiter refused and suggested they order a take-out meal from the "stand-up" counter. The Greensboro sit-in took place in Greensboro, North Carolina, and has echoes of Rosa Parks and other symbolic moments that eventually helped end segregation in the United States. The Greensboro sit-in was a major moment in the Civil Rights Movement. 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. 2023, A&E Television Networks, LLC. Google Then, the next day, they returned to do it all over again, according to CNN. 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. Ezell Blair Jr. - IMDb 2023, A&E Television Networks, LLC. 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. He had to move to Massachusetts because the publicity made it. 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. By the spring of 1960 the sit-in movement spread to 54 cities in nine states in the South. [9] In 2010, Khazan was the recipient of the James Smithson Bicentennial Medal from the Smithsonian Institution. in sociology in 1963. 20072023 Blackpast.org. The year was 1960, and segregation raged throughout the country, but the students decided they had had enough. Google says they were also influenced by the techniques of Dr. Martin Luther King 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's policy of denying service to non-white customers. At that speech, King called for an escalation of nonviolent protests to end segregated accommodation. Robert Penn Warren Center for the Humanities 2023 |. Ezell Blair Jr. - Infogalactic: the planetary knowledge core They refused to leave when denied service and stayed until the store closed. The figures are depicted walking out of Woolworth's . They were students at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical College. Four years later, The Civil Rights Act of 1964 would mandate all businesses to desegregate. 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. Woolworth. 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. Nadra Nittle is a veteran journalist who is currently the education reporter for The 19th. By the end of March 1960, the movement had spread to 55 cities in 13 states. By simply remaining in their seats peacefully and quietly, they flummoxed the staff and left them unsure on how to enforce their whites-only rule. Movies. In 1965, he moved to New Bedford, Massachusetts, where he worked as a teacher and counselor for the developmentally challenged. 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 was a student government leader. Did you know? Ezell A. Blair, Jr. (1941- ), referred to as Izell Blair inWho Speaks for the Negro?, is an American civil rights activist. A Greensboro native, born in the city on October 18, 1941, Blair graduated from Dudley High School in Greensboro, North Carolina. Khazan received his early education from Dudley High School, where his father taught. At the end of July, when many local college students were on summer vacation, the Greensboro Woolworths quietly integrated its lunch counter. The next day, they returned to the store with more students and continued their sit-in protest. Together they have three children. Greensboro sit-in | History, Summary, Impact, & Facts [3] In 1963, Khazan graduated from A&T College with a Bachelor's degree in sociology and Social Studies. Menu. But they did not move. 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. 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. Sit-in demonstrations by Black college students grew at the Woolworth's in Greensboro and other local stores, February 6, 1960. The Greensboro sit-in wasnt a random act of rebellion, but the result of months of planning. Police arrested 41 students for trespassing at a Raleigh Woolworth. Franklin McCain, one of 'the Greensboro Four,' dies - Winston-Salem Journal 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. He attended law school at Howard University for almost a year before a variety of maladies forced him out. 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). Blair, Ezell Alexander, 1919-1997 - Civil Rights Digital Library - USG The sit-ins not only attracted new protesters, they also drew counter-protesters who showed up to harass, insult and assault them. He majored in business administration and accounting and became a counselor-coordinator for the CETA program in Greensboro. "[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. Your donation is fully tax-deductible. In 1965, he moved to New Bedford, Massachusetts, where he worked as a teacher and counselor for the developmentally challenged. In 2010, Khazan was the recipient of the James Smithson Bicentennial Medal from the Smithsonian Institution. 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. in sociology in 1963. 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. Please ignore rumors and hoaxes. Eventually the manager closed the store early and the men leftwith the rest of the customers. 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. By the early 1970s, SNCC had lost much of its mainstream support and was effectively disbanded. What sparked the Greensboro Four, as the students were known, to take such courageous action? After nearly a week of protests, approximately 1,400 students showed up to the Greensboro Woolworth to demonstrate. Khazan is married to the former Lorraine France George of New Bedford. North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, "Photo of Jibreel Khazan Receiving Award (Ezell Blair, Jr.)" (1961). Our Spectrum News app is the most convenient way to get the stories that matter to you. Ezell Blair Jr.. Self: February One: The Story of the Greensboro Four. Joseph McNeil earned a degree in engineering physics in 1963 and joined the U.S. Air Force, where he became a captain. A small donation would help us keep this available to all. They were taking place in a lot of places before Greensboro., READ MORE: Follow the Freedom Riders' Journey Against Segregation. Photo of Jibreel Khazan Receiving Award (Ezell Blair, Jr.) Notes about review of interview transcripts with Carmichael, Ezell Blair, Lucy Thornton, and Jean Wheeler. The February One Monument is an important landmark on A&T's campus that sets it apart from other institutions. [10] On October 12, 2021, Khazan was honored with the renaming of a city park in the west end of New Bedford, MA. He later moved to New Bedford, Massachusetts, where he changed his name to Jibreel Khazan. [5] Khazan stated that he had seen a documentary on Mohandas Gandhi's use of "passive insistence" that had inspired him to act. 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. 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. Biographies of the A&T Four Jibreel Khazan Jibreel Khazan (Ezell Blair, Jr.) was born in Greensboro, North Carolina on October 18, 1941. 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. ", 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. They were asked to leave. 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 He then went into computer sales and worked as a stockbroker and commercial banker. As he had been labeled a "troublemaker" for his role in the Greensboro Sit-Ins, life in Greensboro became difficult for Khazan. [4] It was said that when he experienced unjust treatment based on color, he "stood up. How the Greensboro Four Sit-In Sparked a Movement - History Their names were Ezell Blair Jr., David Richmond, Franklin McCain and Joseph McNeil. David Richmond died young. This page was last modified on 24 April 2023, at 04:46. 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. From left to right: Jibreel Khazan (formerly Ezell Blair, Jr.), Franklin McCain, Joseph McNeill, and David Richmond. In some cases, they may conflict with strongly held cultural values, beliefs or restrictions. The Belles resolved to serve as look-outs when the four men took their seats at the lunch counter on the first day. But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us! By that time, Johns had already alerted the local media, who had arrived in full force to cover the events on television. We strive for accuracy and fairness. 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. At the time of the protest, he was a student at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, where he was studying engineering. Counters in other cities did the same in subsequent months. Ezell Blair Jr. was the son of a teacher who received his B.S. CNN.com describes what the students went through when they staged the Greensboro sit-in. Ezell A. Blair, Jr. | Who Speaks for the Negro? - Vanderbilt University By the spring of 1960 the sit-in movement spread to 54 cities in nine states in the South. They also did not give up their seats when a police officer arrived and menacingly slapped his nightstick against his hand directly behind them. He married the former Lorraine France George of New Bedford. Recommended Citation. By February 5, some 300 students had joined the protest at Woolworths, paralyzing the lunch counter and other local businesses. In addition, the four men each have residence halls named for them on the university campus. 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. Touring history with Avett Brothers' bassist Bob Crawford. Not only were lunch counters across the country integrated one by one, a student movement was galvanized. On February 1, 1960, Blair, along with McNeil, Franklin and Richmond, took the bold step of violating the Greensboro Woolworth's segregation policy. Its success led to a wider sit-in movement, organized primarily by the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), that spread throughout the South. 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. 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. 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. He was 49 years old when he died in 1990 and received a posthumous honorary doctorate degree from At&T State University. They were influenced by the nonviolent protest techniques of Mahatma Gandhi. Ezell Blair Jr. - Wikipedia All Rights Reserved. McCain was one of four N.C. A&T students who led sit-ins at the Woolworth lunch counter in downtown Greensboro in 1960. [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. The Greensboro Sit-In was a critical turning point in Black history and American history, bringing the fight for civil rights to the national stage. 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. 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 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. 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. The Greensboro sit-in. 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. After graduation, He briefly studied law at Howard University Law School in Washington, DC. Denied service, the four young men refused to give up their seats. Ezell A. Blair, Jr. - Dead or Kicking 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 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. At that speech, King called for an escalation of nonviolent protests to end segregated accommodation. Original materials provided by the University of Kentucky and Yale University libraries and digitized with the permission of the Warren estate. Martin Luther King Jr. to join them in integrating the cafeteria at Richs Department Store in Atlanta in 1960, Guzmn says. Police arrived on the scene but were unable to take action due to the lack of provocation. 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 protests, and the subsequent events were major milestone in the Civil Rights Movement. His breaking point was when he was not served a hot dog at the Greensboro bus terminal, according to Carolina Theatre. 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. In 1968, he joined the Islamic Center of New England and changed his name to Jibreel Khazan. 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. 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. July 1, 2020. 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. Ezell Blair Jr. Facts for Kids 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. HISTORY.com works with a wide range of writers and editors to create accurate and informative content. A&T freshmen Ezell Blair Jr. (now known as Jibreel Khazan), Joseph McNeil and the late David Richmond and Franklin McCain ignited a movement at the segregated downtown F.W. Updated: January 25, 2022 | Original: February 4, 2010. See MoreSee Less. 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. and received a B.S. Ezell Blair Jr. was the son of a teacher who received his B.S. 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.
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