Counters in other cities did the same in subsequent months. Blair, Ezell Alexander, 1919-1997 - Civil Rights Digital Library - USG As he had been labeled a "troublemaker" for his role in the Greensboro Sit-Ins, life in Greensboro became difficult for Khazan. Khazan stated that he had seen a documentary on Mohandas Gandhi's use of "passive insistence" that had inspired him to act. Franklin McCain, one of 'the Greensboro Four,' dies - Winston-Salem Journal Jibreel Khazan/Ezell Blair, Jr. (1941- ) - BlackPast.org Ezell Blair Jr.. Self: February One: The Story of the Greensboro Four. In addition, the four men each have residence halls named for them on the university campus. His life was threatened, so he moved to a mountain community, according to Carolina Theatre. How the Greensboro Four Sit-In Sparked a Movement - History Movies. But they did not move. Blair was president of the junior class, the student government association, the campus NAACP and the Greensboro Congress of Racial Equality. 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. 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. He was a Major General in the Air Force Reserves and started diversity initiatives that changed the Air Force forever. Ezell A. Blair, Jr. was born on October 18, 1941 and is 81 years old now. HISTORY.com works with a wide range of writers and editors to create accurate and informative content. 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. Another critical part of the protest was looping in the media. [11], Khazan is married to the former Lorraine France George of New Bedford. Greensboro Four Biography | Infoplease Sit-in demonstrations by Black college students grew at the Woolworth's in Greensboro and other local stores, February 6, 1960. The protests and the subsequent events were major milestones in the Civil Rights Movement. Franklin McCain graduated from A&T with a degree in chemistry and biology. By February 5, some 300 students had joined the protest at Woolworths, paralyzing the lunch counter and other local businesses. 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. 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. See MoreSee Less, Neighborhood children greet Ms. Gibson upon her return to Harlem after winning Wimbledon in 1957 Denied service, the four young men refused to give up their seats. Together they have three children. 2023, Charter Communications, all rights reserved. At the time of the protest, he was a student at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, where he was studying engineering. He was captivated as King addressed the audience in attendance. After graduating from A&T in 1963, Blair encountered difficulties finding a job in his native Greensboro. All four were students from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical College. The former Woolworth's in Greensboro now houses the International Civil Rights Center and Museum, which features a restored version of the lunch counter where the Greensboro Four sat. 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. McNeil worked in the university library with a fellow activist, Eula Hudgens, who encouraged him to protest. David Richmond, the fourth member and McCain's freshman college roommate, died in 1990. 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. Blair was president of the junior class, the student government association, the campus NAACP and the Greensboro Congress of Racial Equality. 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 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. 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. A&T Four: A Closer Look | Digital Collections | North Carolina 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. 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. Not only were lunch counters across the country integrated one by one, a student movement was galvanized. Commemorative Landscapes of North Carolina | Greensboro Four Monument Greensboro Sit-In: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know, Copyright 2023 Heavy, Inc. All rights reserved. The Greensboro sit-in. 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. They were taking place in a lot of places before Greensboro., READ MORE: Follow the Freedom Riders' Journey Against Segregation. The Greensboro Four stayed put until the store closed, then returned the next day with more students from local colleges. 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. He also has worked with the AFL/CIO Trade Council in Boston, the Opportunities Industrialization Center, and at the Rodman Job Corps Center. Greensboro sit-in | History, Summary, Impact, & Facts Ezell A. Blair, Jr. | Who Speaks for the Negro? - Vanderbilt University The sit-in movement soon spread to college towns throughout the South. His breaking point was when he was not served a hot dog at the Greensboro bus terminal, according to Carolina Theatre. 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. They also worked with the NAACP to get the 1964 Civil Rights Act passed. 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 SNCC was pivotal in pushing the Rev. By the end of March 1960, the movement had spread to 55 cities in 13 states. Its success led to a wider sit-in movement, organized primarily by the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), that spread throughout the South. GREENSBORO Civil rights leader Franklin McCain has died. 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. 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. [4] It was said that when he experienced unjust treatment based on color, he "stood up. Touring history with Avett Brothers' bassist Bob Crawford. By the spring of 1960 the sit-in movement spread to 54 cities in nine states in the South. Jibreel Khazan (now Ezell Blair Jr.) was one of the original four who took part in the Woolworth sit-ins. He had to move to Massachusetts because the publicity made it difficult to get a job in Greensboro. SNCC activists such as John Lewis took part in the 1961 Freedom Rides, the 1963 March on Washington, and the 1963 Freedom Summer effort. They were influenced by the nonviolent protest techniques of Mahatma Gandhi. 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. The sit-ins not only attracted new protesters, they also drew counter-protesters who showed up to harass, insult and assault them. [5] His 1964 interview describes the Greensboro sit-ins in Chapter 5 of Who Speaks for the Negro? in sociology in 1963. Original materials provided by the University of Kentucky and Yale University libraries and digitized with the permission of the Warren estate. Photo of Jibreel Khazan Receiving Award (Ezell Blair, Jr.) By that time, Johns had already alerted the local media, who had arrived in full force to cover the events on television. 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. 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. "[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. 2023, A&E Television Networks, LLC. [5] Khazan stated that he had seen a documentary on Mohandas Gandhi's use of "passive insistence" that had inspired him to act. 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. Ezell A. Blair, Jr. is a well known Activist. In response to the success of the sit-in movement, dining facilities across the South were being integrated by the summer of 1960. A&T Four is more than a monument, it's a moment that - Andscape Joseph McNeil earned a degree in engineering physics in 1963 and joined the U.S. Air Force, where he became a captain. They waited some more. He later moved to New Bedford, Massachusetts, where he changed his name to Jibreel Khazan. 0. The year was 1960, and segregation raged throughout the country, but the students decided they had had enough. 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. Greensboro sit-in, act of nonviolent protest against a segregated lunch counter in Greensboro, North Carolina, that began on February 1, 1960. Khazan is married to the former Lorraine France George of New Bedford. 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.). The Greensboro Fours efforts inspired a sit-in movement that eventually spread to 55 cities in 13 states. BlackPast.org is a 501(c)(3) non-profit and our EIN is 26-1625373. Jan 27, 2020. The Belles resolved to serve as look-outs when the four men took their seats at the lunch counter on the first day. We strive for accuracy and fairness. 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. 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. About a dozen Bennett Belles were also arrested at area sit-ins. 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. [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? Ezell Blair Jr. - Infogalactic: the planetary knowledge core "[5], In 1959, Khazan graduated from James B. Dudley High School, and entered the A&T College of North Carolina. [1][2], Khazan was born Ezell Alexander Blair Jr. on October 18, 1941, in Greensboro, North Carolina. They have three children, one of whom graduated from A & T. Do you find this information helpful? [3] In 1963, Khazan graduated from A&T College with a Bachelor's degree in sociology and Social Studies. Ezell A. Blair, Jr. (1941- ), referred to as Izell Blair inWho Speaks for the Negro?, is an American civil rights activist. The four North Carolina A & T students are (L-R): David Richmond, Franklin McCain, Ezell Blair, Jr., and Joseph McNeil. Please ignore rumors and hoaxes. Greensboro Four | NCpedia All four were students from North. After graduation, He briefly studied law at Howard University Law School in Washington, DC. He continued his education at Massachusetts University and later at the New England Conservatory of Music, where he studied voice. 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. 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. As of 2018 Ezell Blair is 76 years years old. [10] On October 12, 2021, Khazan was honored with the renaming of a city park in the west end of New Bedford, MA. Ezell A. Blair, Jr. - Facts, Bio, Favorites, Info, Family 2021 [4] Shortly before his death, McCain was interviewed by his granddaughter, Taylor, who asked him to define freedom. David Richmond died young. 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. The sit-in protest continued for several days and soon spread throughout the South, sparking a new phase of the Civil Rights Movement. 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. 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. 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. The protests and the subsequent events were major milestones in the Civil Rights Movement. He served on university boards and received an honorary doctorate, according to the Civil Rights Digital Library. 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. Eventually, they prevailed, and Woolworths stopped segregating its dining area on July 25th, 1960, Google reports. In 1991, Khazan received an honorary doctorate of humanities degree from North Carolina A&T State University.
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