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Four Black Woolworths employeesGeneva Tisdale, Susie Morrison, Anetha Jones and Charles Bestwere the first to be served. 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. Four years later, The Civil Rights Act of 1964 would mandate all businesses to desegregate. The reaction was ugly in the short-term, but in the long-term the protests spread and made real change. 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 It was a small victoryand one that would build. By the spring of 1960 the sit-in movement spread to 54 cities in nine states in the South. He was captivated as King addressed the audience in attendance. He served on university boards and received an honorary doctorate, according to the Civil Rights Digital Library. As he had been labeled a "troublemaker" for his role in the Greensboro Sit-Ins, life in Greensboro became difficult for Khazan. Some content (or its descriptions) found on this site may be harmful and difficult to view. SNCC was pivotal in pushing the Rev. 2023, Charter Communications, all rights reserved. 0. A Greensboro native, he graduated from Dudley High School and received a . 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. Lunch counter sit-ins then moved beyond Greensboro to North Carolina cities such as Charlotte, Durham and Winston-Salem. He graduated from James B. Dudley High School in 1959 and began his freshman year at A&T College having received an A&T College Alumni Association Scholarship. "[5], In 1959, Khazan graduated from James B. Dudley High School, and entered the A&T College of North Carolina. 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. Eventually the manager closed the store early and the men leftwith the rest of the customers. 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. While a student at A & T he was elected to attend the meeting at Shaw University in Raleigh at which the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) was formed. Its success led to a wider sit-in movement, organized primarily by the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), that spread throughout the South. Martin Luther King Jr. to join them in integrating the cafeteria at Richs Department Store in Atlanta in 1960, Guzmn says. Khazan works with developmentally disabled people for the CETA program in New Bedford, Mass. Activist Ella Baker, then director of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, organized the youth-centered groups first meeting. [4] It was said that when he experienced unjust treatment based on color, he "stood up. 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. In 1965, he moved to New Bedford, Massachusetts, where he worked as a teacher and counselor for the developmentally challenged. After the Greensboro sit-ins, Blair became a prominent civil rights activist and organizer. 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 was a Major General in the Air Force Reserves and started diversity initiatives that changed the Air Force forever. In 1968, he joined the Islamic Center of New England and changed his name to Jibreel Khazan. 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. 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. 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. Blair was president of the junior class, the student government association, the campus NAACP and the Greensboro Congress of Racial Equality. 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. Together they have three children. 2023, A&E Television Networks, LLC. [10] On October 12, 2021, Khazan was honored with the renaming of a city park in the west end of New Bedford, MA. 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. 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. Ezell Blair is a member of famous Activist list. HISTORY reviews and updates its content regularly to ensure it is complete and accurate. 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. 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. 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. His life was threatened, so he moved to a mountain community, according to Carolina Theatre. He was a student government leader. Download it here. Ezell A. Blair, Jr. was born on October 18, 1941 and is 81 years old now. As he had been labeled a "troublemaker" for his role in the Greensboro Sit-Ins, life in Greensboro became difficult for Khazan. The students had received guidance from mentor activists and collaborated with students from Greensboro's all-women's Bennett College. 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. Updated: January 25, 2022 | Original: February 4, 2010. A small donation would help us keep this available to all. 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. McCain was one of four N.C. A&T students who led sit-ins at the Woolworth lunch counter in downtown Greensboro in 1960. He majored in business administration and accounting and became a counselor-coordinator for the CETA program in Greensboro. HISTORY.com works with a wide range of writers and editors to create accurate and informative content. 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. 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. They refused to leave when denied service and stayed until the store closed. 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. Then, the next day, they returned to do it all over again, according to CNN. 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. [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. In 1958, Khazan heard King speak at the local Bennett 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. 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. We strive for accuracy and fairness. [3] In 1963, Khazan graduated from A&T College with a Bachelor's degree in sociology and Social Studies. [5] His 1964 interview describes the Greensboro sit-ins in Chapter 5 of Who Speaks for the Negro? Copyright: Jack Moebes/Corbis. All four were students from North. 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. Read more, Greensboro Voices: Voicing Observations in Civil Rights and Equality struggles, Greensboro Public Library (Greensboro, N.C.), Oral history interview with Ezell and Corene Blair, Records that have the exact phrase Montgomery Bus Boycott, Records with the word integration that also contain the words Albany and/or Augusta, Records with the name King but not the name Martin, Records containing the phrase Freedom Rides and the name Carter, Records containing the words Selma and Lewis or Selma and Williams, Use quotation marks to search as a phrase, Use "+" before a term to make it required (Otherwise results matching only some of your terms may be included), Use "-" before a word or phrase to exclude, Use "OR", "AND", and "NOT" (must be capitalized) to create complex boolean logic, You can use parentheses in your complex expressions, Truncation and wildcards are not supported. 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. All Rights Reserved. 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. Get the latest news, sports and weather delivered straight to your inbox. 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. Their names were Ezell Blair Jr., David Richmond, Franklin McCain and Joseph McNeil. Blair was president of the junior class, the student government association, the campus NAACP and the Greensboro Congress of Racial Equality. 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. At the time of the protest, he was a student at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, where he was studying engineering. But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us! 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. When four Black students refused to move from a segregated Woolworth's lunch counter in 1960, nation-wide student activism gained momentum. according to the Civil Rights Digital Library. He had to move to Massachusetts because the publicity made it. By the early 1970s, SNCC had lost much of its mainstream support and was effectively disbanded. 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. He worked as a janitor and battled many demons, sad that he couldnt improve the world more than he had. He continued his education at Massachusetts University and later at the New England Conservatory of Music, where he studied voice.[7]. It took months, but on July 25, 1960, the Greensboro Woolworth lunch. 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 later moved to New Bedford, Massachusetts, where he changed his name to Jibreel Khazan. McCain's death left Ezell Blair (now Jibreel Khazan) and Joseph McNeil as the two surviving members of the Greensboro Four. Khazan is married to the former Lorraine France George of New Bedford. The Greensboro sit-in was a civil rights protest that started in 1960, when young African American students staged a sit-in at a segregated Woolworths lunch counter in Greensboro, North Carolina, and refused to leave after being denied service. They were asked to leave. Ezell A. Blair, Jr. Death Fact Check Ezell is alive and kicking and is currently 81 years old. After graduation, He briefly studied law at Howard University Law School in Washington, DC. Powered by. 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. The next day, they returned to the store with more students and continued their sit-in protest. These materials may be graphic or reflect biases. 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. Did you know? 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. 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. Notes about review of interview transcripts with Carmichael, Ezell Blair, 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. 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 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. They told him to do what he must and to carry himself with dignity and grace. He changed his name to Jibreel Khazan and became involved in the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) and other civil rights organizations. Ezell Blair, Jr. (later Jibreel Khazan), Franklin McCain, Joseph McNeil, and David Richmond organized the sit-in. After graduation, He briefly studied law at Howard University Law School in Washington, DC. We provide access to these materials to preserve the historical record, but we do not endorse the attitudes, prejudices, or behaviors found within 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. Ezell A. Blair, Jr. (1941- ), referred to as Izell Blair inWho Speaks for the Negro?, is an American civil rights activist. This page was last modified on 24 April 2023, at 04:46. After graduating from A&T in 1963, Blair encountered difficulties finding a job in his native Greensboro. She is the author of Toni Morrison's Spiritual Vision and other books. READ MORE: Civil Rights Movement: A Timeline. [5] Khazan stated that he had seen a documentary on Mohandas Gandhi's use of "passive insistence" that had inspired him to act. 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. After nearly a week of protests, approximately 1,400 students showed up to the Greensboro Woolworth to demonstrate. He lives in New York. On Feb. 1, 1960, freshmen David Richmond, Franklin McCain, Joseph McNeil and Ezell Blair Jr. (now Jibreel Khazan) sat at F.W. His 1964 interview describes the Greensboro sit-ins in Chapter 5 of Who Speaks for the Negro? [1][2], Khazan was born Ezell Alexander Blair Jr. on October 18, 1941, in Greensboro, North Carolina. in sociology in 1963. Today Khazan is an oral historian, oracle, Mass-Star Story teller and lecturer. Khazan stated that he had seen a documentary on Mohandas Gandhi's use of "passive insistence" that had inspired him to act. The Belles resolved to serve as look-outs when the four men took their seats at the lunch counter on the first day. About a dozen Bennett Belles were also arrested at area sit-ins. See MoreSee Less, Today In HistoryEdward Kennedy Duke Ellington, the legendary composer and bandleader, was born in Washington, DC, on April 29, 1899. 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. Updated: January 29, 2021 | Original: July 28, 2020. Jan 27, 2020. 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. They also worked with the NAACP to get the 1964 Civil Rights Act passed. 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. We strive for accuracy and fairness. Sit-in demonstrations by Black college students grew at the Woolworth's in Greensboro and other local stores, February 6, 1960. Click here to sign up for email and text alerts. 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. [11], Khazan is married to the former Lorraine France George of New Bedford. But they did not move. The white waiter refused and suggested they order a take-out meal from the "stand-up" counter. [9] In 2010, Khazan was the recipient of the James Smithson Bicentennial Medal from the Smithsonian Institution. 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 All four were students from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical College. None of it deterred the protesters. "[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. The sit-in movement soon spread to college towns throughout the South. 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. Birthday: October 18, 1941 How Old - Age: 81 Recently Passed Away Celebrities and Famous People. North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, "Photo of Jibreel Khazan Receiving Award (Ezell Blair, Jr.)" (1961). 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. Digital archive created and designed by the Robert Penn Warren Center for the Humanities at Vanderbilt University. In addition to desegregating dining establishments, the sit-ins led to the creation of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee in Raleigh. The Greensboro sit-in was a major moment in the Civil Rights Movement. 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. Description. They were all students at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University in Greensboro. The university. 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. 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. 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. According to History.com, they also were influenced by Mohandas Gandhi and the Freedom Riders and their principles of non-violent protest. A Greensboro native, born in the city on October 18, 1941, Blair graduated from Dudley High School in Greensboro, North Carolina. They were refused service and sat peacefully until the store closed. [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. The four North Carolina A & T students are (L-R): David Richmond, Franklin McCain, Ezell Blair, Jr., and Joseph McNeil. Jibreel Khazan (previously Ezell Blair, Jr). He later moved to New Bedford, Massachusetts, where he changed his name to Jibreel Khazan. Google After graduating from A&T in 1963, Blair encountered difficulties finding a job in his native Greensboro. ", 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. Touring history with Avett Brothers' bassist Bob Crawford. They were taking place in a lot of places before Greensboro., READ MORE: Follow the Freedom Riders' Journey Against Segregation. Menu. 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. 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.