His 1964 interview describes the Greensboro sit-ins in Chapter 5 of Who Speaks for the Negro? 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. Eventually, they prevailed, and Woolworths stopped segregating its dining area on July 25th, 1960, Google reports. 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. He had to move to Massachusetts because the publicity made it difficult to get a job 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. After nearly a week of protests, approximately 1,400 students showed up to the Greensboro Woolworth to demonstrate. All Rights Reserved. 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. At the time of the protest, he was a student at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, where he was studying engineering. They also worked with the NAACP to get the 1964 Civil Rights Act passed. In addition, the four men each have residence halls named for them on the university campus. 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. Ezell A. Blair, Jr. - Dead or Kicking SNCC was pivotal in pushing the Rev. 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. Digital archive created and designed by the Robert Penn Warren Center for the Humanities at Vanderbilt University. Jibreel Khazan (previously Ezell Blair, Jr). We strive for accuracy and fairness. [11], Khazan is married to the former Lorraine France George of New Bedford. Greensboro sit-in | History, Summary, Impact, & Facts They were students at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical College. 20072023 Blackpast.org. Facts to Know About the Greensboro Four and Sit-In Movement - Spectrum News 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. None of it deterred the protesters. When four Black students refused to move from a segregated Woolworth's lunch counter in 1960, nation-wide student activism gained momentum. In 2010, Khazan was the recipient of the James Smithson Bicentennial Medal from the Smithsonian Institution. These materials may be graphic or reflect biases. He was a student government leader. 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. WATCH: The Civil Rights Movement on HISTORY Vault. 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. 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. 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. 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. HISTORY.com works with a wide range of writers and editors to create accurate and informative content. 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. 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. According to History.com, they also were influenced by Mohandas Gandhi and the Freedom Riders and their principles of non-violent protest. The figures are depicted walking out of Woolworth's . After the Greensboro sit-ins, Blair became a prominent civil rights activist and organizer. It took months, but on July 25, 1960, the Greensboro Woolworth lunch counter was finally integrated. Nadra Nittle is a veteran journalist who is currently the education reporter for The 19th. Police arrested 41 students for trespassing at a Raleigh Woolworth. All Rights Reserved. Her writing has appeared in The Guardian, NBC News, The Atlantic, Business Insider and other outlets. The white waiter refused and suggested they order a take-out meal from the "stand-up" counter. Movies. BlackPast.org is a 501(c)(3) non-profit and our EIN is 26-1625373. They also took inspiration from civil rights causes of years earlier, including the 1955 lynching of Emmett Till and the Montgomery bus boycott. Martin Luther King Jr. to join them in integrating the cafeteria at Richs Department Store in Atlanta in 1960, Guzmn says. 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. Ezell A. Blair, Jr. (1941- ), referred to as Izell Blair inWho Speaks for the Negro?, is an American civil rights activist. 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. The next day, they returned to the store with more students and continued their sit-in protest. They refused to leave when denied service and stayed until the store closed. 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. according to the Civil Rights Digital Library. In response to the success of the sit-in movement, dining facilities across the South were being integrated by the summer of 1960. Blair, Ezell Alexander, 1919-1997 - Civil Rights Digital Library - USG 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. They were influenced by the nonviolent protest techniques of Mahatma Gandhi. In 1958, Khazan heard King speak at the local Bennett College. By the spring of 1960 the sit-in movement spread to 54 cities in nine states in the South. GREENSBORO Civil rights leader Franklin McCain has died. 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. In 1959, Khazan graduated from James B. Dudley High School, and entered the A&T College of North Carolina. Click here to sign up for email and text alerts. See MoreSee Less. 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. 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. The Greensboro sit-in is the subject of a Google Doodle on February 1, 2020 for the 60th anniversary of the action. Khazan received his early education from Dudley High School, where his father taught. About a dozen Bennett Belles were also arrested at area sit-ins. Franklin McCain graduated from A&T with a degree in chemistry and biology. Release Calendar Top 250 Movies Most Popular Movies Browse Movies by Genre Top Box Office Showtimes & Tickets Movie News India Movie Spotlight. He worked as a janitor and battled many demons, sad that he couldnt improve the world more than he had. 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. Touring history with Avett Brothers' bassist Bob Crawford. They also did not give up their seats when a police officer arrived and menacingly slapped his nightstick against his hand directly behind them. HISTORY reviews and updates its content regularly to ensure it is complete and accurate. They were refused service and sat peacefully until the store closed. 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. What sparked the Greensboro Four, as the students were known, to take such courageous action? 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. The Greensboro Four stayed put until the store closed, then returned the next day with more students from local colleges. Multiple lunch counter sit-ins had taken place in the Midwest, East Coast and South in the 1940s and 1950s, but these demonstrations didnt garner national attention. 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 In addition to desegregating dining establishments, the sit-ins led to the creation of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee in Raleigh. The Greensboro Fours efforts inspired a sit-in movement that eventually spread to 55 cities in 13 states. All four were students from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical College. 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 Four | NCpedia He then went into computer sales and worked as a stockbroker and commercial banker. 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. by mcgorry. July 1, 2020. 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. It's honored with a Google Doodle. and received a B.S. Khazan received his early education from Dudley High School, where his father taught. A&T Four: A Closer Look | Digital Collections | North Carolina The Greensboro sit-in. His name is now Jibreel Khazan. McCain's death left Ezell Blair (now Jibreel Khazan) and Joseph McNeil as the two surviving members of the Greensboro Four. The protests, and the subsequent events were major milestone in the Civil Rights Movement. 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. in sociology in 1963. But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us! 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. 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. 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. Birthday: October 18, 1941 How Old - Age: 81 Recently Passed Away Celebrities and Famous People. He was a student government leader. They told him to do what he must and to carry himself with dignity and grace. Ezell Blair is a member of famous Activist list. 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. From left to right: Jibreel Khazan (formerly Ezell Blair, Jr.), Franklin McCain, Joseph McNeill, and David Richmond. 0. [6], The sit-in demonstrations were just the beginning of Khazan's community involvement. 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. SNCC activists such as John Lewis took part in the 1961 Freedom Rides, the 1963 March on Washington, and the 1963 Freedom Summer effort. Ezell Blair Jr. Facts for Kids Denied service, the four young men refused to give up their seats. 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. Khazan is married to the former Lorraine France George of New Bedford. READ MORE: Civil Rights Movement: A Timeline. Jibreel Khazan (now Ezell Blair Jr.) was one of the original four who took part in the Woolworth sit-ins. February One: The Story of the Greensboro Sit-In | C-SPAN.org 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. Ezell Blair Jr. was the son of a teacher who received his B.S. 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. 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. CNN.com describes what the students went through when they staged the Greensboro sit-in. [1][2], Khazan was born Ezell Alexander Blair Jr. on October 18, 1941, in Greensboro, North Carolina. 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 In HistoryRobert C. Maynard bought the Oakland Tribune on this date April 30, 1983. The sit-ins not only attracted new protesters, they also drew counter-protesters who showed up to harass, insult and assault them. At the time of the protest, he was a student at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, where he was studying engineering. 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. 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. [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. By Birth Year | By Birth Month | By Death Year | By Death Month | Random, Contact Us | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Copyright. Commemorative Landscapes of North Carolina | Greensboro Four Monument By the early 1970s, SNCC had lost much of its mainstream support and was effectively disbanded. He married the former Lorraine France George of New Bedford. [5] His 1964 interview describes the Greensboro sit-ins in Chapter 5 of Who Speaks for the Negro? All Rights Reserved. 0 54. Ezell Blair Jr.. Self: February One: The Story of the Greensboro Four. Greensboro Sit-In - Facts, Date & Definition - History 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. The A&T Four: February 1st, 1960 Then, the next day, they returned to do it all over again, according to CNN. David Richmond, the fourth member and McCain's freshman college roommate, died in 1990. By the end of March 1960, the movement had spread to 55 cities in 13 states. Some content (or its descriptions) found on this site may be harmful and difficult to view. 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. We provide access to these materials to preserve the historical record, but we do not endorse the attitudes, prejudices, or behaviors found within them. Ezell Blair Jr. net worth and salary income estimation Woolworth's store. Description. Greensboro sit-in - Students | Britannica Kids | Homework Help The Greensboro sit-in wasnt a random act of rebellion, but the result of months of planning. Original materials provided by the University of Kentucky and Yale University libraries and digitized with the permission of the Warren estate. But they did not move. [4] Shortly before his death, McCain was interviewed by his granddaughter, Taylor, who asked him to define freedom. HISTORY reviews and updates its content regularly to ensure it is complete and accurate. He was 49 years old when he died in 1990 and received a posthumous honorary doctorate degree from At&T State University. Khazan works with developmentally disabled people for the CETA program in New Bedford, Mass. 2023, A&E Television Networks, LLC. Ezell Blair Jr. was the son of a teacher who received his B.S. Biographies of the A&T Four Jibreel Khazan Jibreel Khazan (Ezell Blair, Jr.) was born in Greensboro, North Carolina on October 18, 1941. Ezell A. Blair, Jr. Death Fact Check Ezell is alive and kicking and is currently 81 years old. 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. He also has worked with the AFL/CIO Trade Council in Boston, the Opportunities Industrialization Center, and at the Rodman Job Corps Center. in sociology in 1963. The sit-ins establish a crucial kind of leadership and organizing of young people, says Jeanne Theoharis, a Brooklyn College political science professor. One of the original Greensboro Four who took part in the Woolworth sit-ins. 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 Another critical part of the protest was looping in the media. in sociology from North Carolina Agricultural & Technical State University in 1963. All four were students from North. In 1960, 4 young men sat at the Woolworth lunch counter in downtown 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. The sit-in movement soon spread to college towns throughout the South. 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. 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. 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). 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. Blair was president of the junior class, the student government association, the campus NAACP and the Greensboro Congress of Racial Equality. Download it here. (No photographers were allowed into Woolworth's during this first protest; this is the only photo of all four original protesters together.). 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. As of 2018 Ezell Blair is 76 years years old. 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. "[5], In 1959, Khazan graduated from James B. Dudley High School, and entered the A&T College of North Carolina. [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. They were all students at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University in Greensboro. After graduation, He briefly studied law at Howard University Law School in Washington, DC. 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. Eventually the manager closed the store early and the men leftwith the rest of the customers. 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. Your donation is fully tax-deductible. 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. Ezell Blair Wiki, Biography, Net Worth, Age, Family, Facts and More Our Spectrum News app is the most convenient way to get the stories that matter to you. His life was threatened, so he moved to a mountain community, according to Carolina Theatre. 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. 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. 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. Greensboro Sit-In: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know | Heavy.com Their names were Ezell Blair Jr., David Richmond, Franklin McCain and Joseph McNeil. Activist Ella Baker, then director of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, organized the youth-centered groups first meeting. Lunch counter sit-ins then moved beyond Greensboro to North Carolina cities such as Charlotte, Durham and Winston-Salem. But the students did not budge. Woolworth. 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. He changed his name to Jibreel Khazan and became involved in the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) and other civil rights organizations. The store manager then approached the men, asking them to leave.