They were refused service and sat peacefully until the store closed. 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. 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. Not only were lunch counters across the country integrated one by one, a student movement was galvanized. Copyright: Jack Moebes/Corbis. in sociology in 1963. 0 54. 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. In 1968, he joined the Islamic Center of New England and changed his name to Jibreel Khazan. All four were students from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical College. HISTORY.com works with a wide range of writers and editors to create accurate and informative content. CNN.com describes what the students went through when they staged the Greensboro sit-in. Movies. Then, the next day, they returned to do it all over again, according to CNN. 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.. 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 sit-ins establish a crucial kind of leadership and organizing of young people, says Jeanne Theoharis, a Brooklyn College political science professor. Notes about review of interview transcripts with Carmichael, Ezell Blair, Lucy Thornton, and Jean Wheeler. Commemorative Landscapes of North Carolina | Greensboro Four Monument 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. [6], The sit-in demonstrations were just the beginning of Khazan's community involvement. All Rights Reserved. Ezell A. Blair Jr / SamePassage In addition to desegregating dining establishments, the sit-ins led to the creation of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee in Raleigh. February One: The Story of the Greensboro Sit-In | C-SPAN.org Touring history with Avett Brothers' bassist Bob Crawford. In addition, the four men each have residence halls named for them on the university campus. Ezell Blair Jr. - Wikipedia These materials may be graphic or reflect biases. 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 [3][8] Today Khazan is an oral historian, oracle, Mass-Star Story teller and lecturer. 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. In 1991, Khazan received an honorary doctorate of humanities degree from North Carolina A&T State University. See MoreSee Less, Neighborhood children greet Ms. Gibson upon her return to Harlem after winning Wimbledon in 1957 After the Greensboro sit-ins, Blair became a prominent civil rights activist and organizer. July 1, 2020. He continued his education at Massachusetts University and later at the New England Conservatory of Music, where he studied voice.[7]. From left to right: Jibreel Khazan (formerly Ezell Blair, Jr.), Franklin McCain, Joseph McNeill, and David Richmond. A Greensboro native, born in the city on October 18, 1941, Blair graduated from Dudley High School in Greensboro, North Carolina. All Rights Reserved. Google says they were also influenced by the techniques of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Hudgens had participated in the 1947 Journey of Reconciliation against racial segregation on interstate buses. Their names were Ezell Blair Jr., David Richmond, Franklin McCain and Joseph McNeil. By that time, Johns had already alerted the local media, who had arrived in full force to cover the events on television. 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. Woolworth. He was captivated as King addressed the audience in attendance. 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. 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. February One: The Story of the Greensboro Four - PBS He later moved to New Bedford, Massachusetts, where he changed his name to Jibreel Khazan. Ezell A. Blair, Jr. Death Fact Check Ezell is alive and kicking and is currently 81 years old. On February 1, 1960, Blair, along with McNeil, Franklin and Richmond, took the bold step of violating the Greensboro Woolworth's segregation policy. On February 1, 1960, Blair, along with McNeil, Franklin and Richmond, took the bold step of violating the Greensboro Woolworth's segregation policy. 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 students came to be called the Greensboro Four. Blair was president of the junior class, the student government association, the campus NAACP and the Greensboro Congress of Racial Equality. Four Black Woolworths employeesGeneva Tisdale, Susie Morrison, Anetha Jones and Charles Bestwere the first to be served. Martin Luther King Jr. to join them in integrating the cafeteria at Richs Department Store in Atlanta in 1960, Guzmn says. Ezell Blair Jr. Facts for Kids 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. Click here to sign up for email and text alerts. The university. We provide access to these materials to preserve the historical record, but we do not endorse the attitudes, prejudices, or behaviors found within them. 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. Sit-in demonstrations by Black college students grew at the Woolworth's in Greensboro and other local stores, February 6, 1960. 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 all students at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University in Greensboro. He attended law school at Howard University for almost a year before a variety of maladies forced him out. By the spring of 1960 the sit-in movement spread to 54 cities in nine states in the South. in sociology in 1963. Ezell A. Blair, Jr. was born on October 18, 1941 and is 81 years old now. After graduation, He briefly studied law at Howard University Law School in Washington, DC. They refused to leave when denied service and stayed until the store closed. By the spring of 1960 the sit-in movement spread to 54 cities in nine states in the South. His breaking point was when he was not served a hot dog at the Greensboro bus terminal, according to Carolina Theatre. The Greensboro sit-in wasnt a random act of rebellion, but the result of months of planning. Lunch counter sit-ins then moved beyond Greensboro to North Carolina cities such as Charlotte, Durham and Winston-Salem. See MoreSee Less. After graduating from A&T in 1963, Blair encountered difficulties finding a job in his native Greensboro. 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 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. Nadra Nittle is a veteran journalist who is currently the education reporter for The 19th. He was a student government leader. Four years later, The Civil Rights Act of 1964 would mandate all businesses to desegregate. It took months, but on July 25, 1960, the Greensboro Woolworth lunch counter was finally integrated. 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. 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. He majored in business administration and accounting and became a counselor-coordinator for the CETA program in Greensboro. At that speech, King called for an escalation of nonviolent protests to end segregated accommodation. 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. 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 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. They were asked to leave. In addition, the four men each have residence halls named for them on the university campus. [5] Khazan stated that he had seen a documentary on Mohandas Gandhi's use of "passive insistence" that had inspired him to act. They were taking place in a lot of places before Greensboro., READ MORE: Follow the Freedom Riders' Journey Against Segregation. Her writing has appeared in The Guardian, NBC News, The Atlantic, Business Insider and other outlets. [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. 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. 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. Report Video . 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. Greensboro Sit-In - Facts, Date & Definition - History 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. Ezell Blair, Jr. (later Jibreel Khazan), Franklin McCain, Joseph McNeil, and David Richmond organized the sit-in. HISTORY reviews and updates its content regularly to ensure it is complete and accurate. But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us! They told him to do what he must and to carry himself with dignity and grace. in sociology from North Carolina Agricultural & Technical State University in 1963. All Rights Reserved. His 1964 interview describes the Greensboro sit-ins in Chapter 5 of Who Speaks for the Negro? The Greensboro sit-in.
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