McCain was one of four N.C. A&T students who led sit-ins at the Woolworth lunch counter in downtown Greensboro in 1960. The Belles resolved to serve as look-outs when the four men took their seats at the lunch counter on the first day. Ezell A. Blair, Jr. is a well known Activist. BlackPast.org is a 501(c)(3) non-profit and our EIN is 26-1625373. The protests, and the subsequent events were major milestone in the Civil Rights Movement. 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. The Greensboro sit-in is the subject of a Google Doodle on February 1, 2020 for the 60th anniversary of the action. Birthday: October 18, 1941 How Old - Age: 81 Recently Passed Away Celebrities and Famous People. 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. [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. Woolworth's store. The year was 1960, and segregation raged throughout the country, but the students decided they had had enough. in sociology from North Carolina Agricultural & Technical State University in 1963. Martin Luther King Jr. to join them in integrating the cafeteria at Richs Department Store in Atlanta in 1960, Guzmn says. 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. Today Khazan is an oral historian, oracle, Mass-Star Story teller and lecturer. 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. He then went into computer sales and worked as a stockbroker and commercial banker. 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. Ezell A. Blair, Jr. Death Fact Check Ezell is alive and kicking and is currently 81 years old. The sit-ins not only attracted new protesters, they also drew counter-protesters who showed up to harass, insult and assault them. They also took inspiration from civil rights causes of years earlier, including the 1955 lynching of Emmett Till and the Montgomery bus boycott. 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. [3] In 1963, Khazan graduated from A&T College with a Bachelor's degree in sociology and Social Studies. Your donation is fully tax-deductible. 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. 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. 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. A Greensboro native, he graduated from Dudley High School and received a . Jibreel Khazan (previously Ezell Blair, Jr). 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. On February 1, 1960, four college students - Ezell Blair, Jr. (now Jibreel Khazan), David Richmond, Franklin McCain and Joseph McNeil - sat read more. 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. 0. The protests played a definitive role in the Civil Rights movement because they sparked additional protests, eventually making the movement too large to ignore, Google says. The reaction was ugly in the short-term, but in the long-term the protests spread and made real change. [9] In 2010, Khazan was the recipient of the James Smithson Bicentennial Medal from the Smithsonian Institution. 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. As of 2018 Ezell Blair is 76 years years old. He went on to work with the developmentally disabled people for the CETA program in New Bedford, Mass. He also has worked with the AFL/CIO Trade Council in Boston and the Opportunities Industrialization Center and at the Rodman Job Corps Center, reports February One documentary. Ezell Blair, Sr. and his wife, Corene, were the parents of Jibreel Khazan, (Ezell A. Blair Jr.) one of the four North Carolina A&T State University students who participated in the first sit-in at the Woolworth's lunch counter in Greensboro on February 1, 1960. 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 He was a student government leader. Get the latest news, sports and weather delivered straight to your inbox. Recommended Citation. At the time of the protest, he was a student at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, where he was studying engineering. At that speech, King called for an escalation of nonviolent protests to end segregated accommodation. When four Black students refused to move from a segregated Woolworth's lunch counter in 1960, nation-wide student activism gained momentum. 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. His name is now Jibreel Khazan. His life was threatened, so he moved to a mountain community, according to Carolina Theatre. They also worked with the NAACP to get the 1964 Civil Rights Act passed. 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. 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. Its success led to a wider sit-in movement, organized primarily by the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), that spread throughout the South. Ezell A. Blair, Jr. (1941- ), referred to as Izell Blair inWho Speaks for the Negro?, is an American civil rights activist. Hudgens had participated in the 1947 Journey of Reconciliation against racial segregation on interstate buses. The sit-ins establish a crucial kind of leadership and organizing of young people, says Jeanne Theoharis, a Brooklyn College political science professor. SNCC was pivotal in pushing the Rev. In some cases, they may conflict with strongly held cultural values, beliefs or restrictions. (No photographers were allowed into Woolworth's during this first protest; this is the only photo of all four original protesters together.). Updated: January 25, 2022 | Original: February 4, 2010. Today In HistoryRobert C. Maynard bought the Oakland Tribune on this date April 30, 1983. 2023, A&E Television Networks, LLC. 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. Another critical part of the protest was looping in the media. 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. GREENSBORO Civil rights leader Franklin McCain has died. Greensboro Sit-In: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know, Copyright 2023 Heavy, Inc. All rights reserved. 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. 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. 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. All four were students from North. By that time, Johns had already alerted the local media, who had arrived in full force to cover the events on television. ", 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. 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. At the time of the protest, he was a student at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, where he was studying engineering. 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. 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. All Rights Reserved. Khazan received his early education from Dudley High School, where his father taught. He never strayed very far from the example of his parents, who were active in the civil rights movement, or the lessons of the people he had known as a child growing up in the south. The February One Monument is an important landmark on A&T's campus that sets it apart from other institutions. 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. 20072023 Blackpast.org. Google says they were also influenced by the techniques of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. It's honored with a Google Doodle. The four North Carolina A & T students are (L-R): David Richmond, Franklin McCain, Ezell Blair, Jr., and Joseph McNeil. Our Spectrum News app is the most convenient way to get the stories that matter to you. On February 1, 1960, the four students sat down at the lunch counter at the Woolworths in downtown Greensboro, where the official policy was to refuse service to anyone but whites. Four Black Woolworths employeesGeneva Tisdale, Susie Morrison, Anetha Jones and Charles Bestwere the first to be served. It was said that when he experienced unjust treatment based on color, he "stood up." After graduating from A&T in 1963, Blair encountered difficulties finding a job in his native Greensboro. We strive for accuracy and fairness. Not only were lunch counters across the country integrated one by one, a student movement was galvanized. At that speech, King called for an escalation of nonviolent protests to end segregated accommodation. by mcgorry. Touring history with Avett Brothers' bassist Bob Crawford. In addition to desegregating dining establishments, the sit-ins led to the creation of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee in Raleigh. Description. Jibreel Khazan (now Ezell Blair Jr.) was one of the original four who took part in the Woolworth sit-ins. according to the Civil Rights Digital Library. Khazan was born Ezell Alexander Blair Jr. on October 18, 1941, in Greensboro, North Carolina. In addition, the four men each have residence halls named for them on the university campus. 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. HISTORY reviews and updates its content regularly to ensure it is complete and accurate. His breaking point was when he was not served a hot dog at the Greensboro bus terminal, according to Carolina Theatre. After nearly a week of protests, approximately 1,400 students showed up to the Greensboro Woolworth to demonstrate. On February 1, 1960, Blair, along with McNeil, Franklin and Richmond, took the bold step of violating the Greensboro Woolworth's segregation policy. He was captivated as King addressed the audience in attendance. 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. Woolworth's whites-only lunch counter in Greensboro to protest segregation.
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