After graduation, He briefly studied law at Howard University Law School in Washington, DC. After graduating from A&T in 1963, Blair encountered difficulties finding a job in his native Greensboro. The figures are depicted walking out of Woolworth's . 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. 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. Description. The university. In 1958, Khazan heard King speak at the local Bennett College. It took months, but on July 25, 1960, the Greensboro Woolworth lunch counter was finally integrated. [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? David Richmond, the fourth member and McCain's freshman college roommate, died in 1990. Google says they were also influenced by the techniques of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. After graduating from A&T in 1963, Blair encountered difficulties finding a job in his native Greensboro. The four North Carolina A & T students are (L-R): David Richmond, Franklin McCain, Ezell Blair, Jr., and Joseph McNeil. [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. Khazan was born Ezell Alexander Blair Jr. on October 18, 1941, in Greensboro, North Carolina. In some cases, they may conflict with strongly held cultural values, beliefs or restrictions. Another critical part of the protest was looping in the media. At that speech, King called for an escalation of nonviolent protests to end segregated accommodation. In 1965, he moved to New Bedford, Massachusetts, where he worked as a teacher and counselor for the developmentally challenged. Counters in other cities did the same in subsequent months. 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. In addition, the four men each have residence halls named for them on the university campus. By the end of March 1960, the movement had spread to 55 cities in 13 states. The sit-in protest continued for several days and soon spread throughout the South, sparking a new phase of the Civil Rights Movement. They were students at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical College. Greensboro Sit-In: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know, Copyright 2023 Heavy, Inc. All rights reserved. The Greensboro Four stayed put until the store closed, then returned the next day with more students from local colleges. They were refused service and sat peacefully until the store closed. David Richmond died young. From left to right: Jibreel Khazan (formerly Ezell Blair, Jr.), Franklin McCain, Joseph McNeill, and David Richmond. 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. He later moved to New Bedford, Massachusetts, where he changed his name to Jibreel Khazan. North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, "Photo of Jibreel Khazan Receiving Award (Ezell Blair, Jr.)" (1961). 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. In 2010, Khazan was the recipient of the James Smithson Bicentennial Medal from the Smithsonian Institution. 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. (No photographers were allowed into Woolworth's during this first protest; this is the only photo of all four original protesters together.). McCain's death left Ezell Blair (now Jibreel Khazan) and Joseph McNeil as the two surviving members of the Greensboro Four. 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. Police arrested 41 students for trespassing at a Raleigh Woolworth. July 1, 2020. Menu. Download it here. 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. SNCC was pivotal in pushing the Rev. Your donation is fully tax-deductible. It was a small victoryand one that would build. 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. From left to right: Jibreel Khazan (formerly Ezell Blair, Jr.), Franklin McCain, Joseph McNeill, and David Richmond. 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. 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. Ezell A. Blair, Jr. (1941- ), referred to as Izell Blair inWho Speaks for the Negro?, is an American civil rights activist. By Birth Year | By Birth Month | By Death Year | By Death Month | Random, Contact Us | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Copyright. Activist Ella Baker, then director of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, organized the youth-centered groups first meeting. 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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. His breaking point was when he was not served a hot dog at the Greensboro bus terminal, according to Carolina Theatre. In 1958, Khazan heard King speak at the local Bennett College. The students came to be called the Greensboro Four. On Feb. 1, 1960 four Black freshmen at North Carolina A&T State University, Franklin McCain, Joseph McNeil, Ezell Blair, Jr., and David Richmond, took seats at the segregated lunch counter of F. W. Woolworth's in Greensboro, N.C. Updated: January 29, 2021 | Original: July 28, 2020. Jan 27, 2020. A Greensboro native, he graduated from Dudley High School and received a . TV Shows. 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 a Major General in the Air Force Reserves and started diversity initiatives that changed the Air Force forever. HISTORY.com works with a wide range of writers and editors to create accurate and informative content. The white waiter refused and suggested they order a take-out meal from the "stand-up" counter. 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. Not only were lunch counters across the country integrated one by one, a student movement was galvanized. The Greensboro sit-in. 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. All Rights Reserved. They were asked to leave. In February 1960, while an 18 year-old freshman at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical College (A&T), Blair and three other students began a sit-in protest at the lunch counter of a Woolworths store in Greensboro, North Carolina. 2023, A&E Television Networks, LLC. 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. [3] In 1963, Khazan graduated from A&T College with a Bachelor's degree in sociology and Social Studies. At the time of the protest, he was a student at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, where he was studying engineering. In addition to desegregating dining establishments, the sit-ins led to the creation of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee in Raleigh. By that time, Johns had already alerted the local media, who had arrived in full force to cover the events on television. 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 February One Monument is an important landmark on A&T's campus that sets it apart from other institutions. [1][2], Khazan was born Ezell Alexander Blair Jr. on October 18, 1941, in Greensboro, North Carolina. Lunch counter sit-ins then moved beyond Greensboro to North Carolina cities such as Charlotte, Durham and Winston-Salem. Blair was president of the junior class, the student government association, the campus NAACP and the Greensboro Congress of Racial Equality. One of the original Greensboro Four who took part in the Woolworth sit-ins. After graduation, He briefly studied law at Howard University Law School in Washington, DC. 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 Then, the next day, they returned to do it all over again, according to CNN. At that speech, King called for an escalation of nonviolent protests to end segregated accommodation. What sparked the Greensboro Four, as the students were known, to take such courageous action? McCain was one of four N.C. A&T students who led sit-ins at the Woolworth lunch counter in downtown Greensboro in 1960. In 1968, he joined the Islamic Center of New England and changed his name to Jibreel Khazan. They have three children, one of whom graduated from A & T. Do you find this information helpful? Her writing has appeared in The Guardian, NBC News, The Atlantic, Business Insider and other outlets. Jibreel Khazan (now Ezell Blair Jr.) was one of the original four who took part in the Woolworth sit-ins. He changed his name to Jibreel Khazan and became involved in the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) and other civil rights organizations. Recommended Citation. [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. Birthday: October 18, 1941 How Old - Age: 81 Recently Passed Away Celebrities and Famous People. 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. Eventually, they prevailed, and Woolworths stopped segregating its dining area on July 25th, 1960, Google reports. 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. Khazans courageous actions helped to bring attention to the injustices of segregation and inspired others to join the fight for civil rights. CNN.com describes what the students went through when they staged the Greensboro sit-in. No one would serve them. On Feb. 1, 1960, freshmen David Richmond, Franklin McCain, Joseph McNeil and Ezell Blair Jr. (now Jibreel Khazan) sat at F.W. All four were students from North. Its success led to a wider sit-in movement, organized primarily by the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), that spread throughout the South. 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 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. 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. It was said that when he experienced unjust treatment based on color, he "stood up." Copyright: Jack Moebes/Corbis. 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. All articles are regularly reviewed and updated by the HISTORY.com team. 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. Biographies of the A&T Four Jibreel Khazan Jibreel Khazan (Ezell Blair, Jr.) was born in Greensboro, North Carolina on October 18, 1941. Please ignore rumors and hoaxes. All Rights Reserved. See MoreSee Less. But the acts of intimidation didnt stop the movement from building. [5] Khazan stated that he had seen a documentary on Mohandas Gandhi's use of "passive insistence" that had inspired him to act. When four Black students refused to move from a segregated Woolworth's lunch counter in 1960, nation-wide student activism gained momentum. In addition, the four men each have residence halls named for them on the university campus. 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 Ezell Blair Jr. 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 . These materials may be graphic or reflect biases. The reaction was ugly in the short-term, but in the long-term the protests spread and made real change. Robert Penn Warren Center for the Humanities 2023 |. 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. He served on university boards and received an honorary doctorate, according to the Civil Rights Digital Library. But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us! The sit-ins not only attracted new protesters, they also drew counter-protesters who showed up to harass, insult and assault them. 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 sit-in movement soon spread to college towns throughout the South. 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. Khazan stated that he had seen a documentary on Mohandas Gandhi's use of "passive insistence" that had inspired him to act. 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. Four years later, The Civil Rights Act of 1964 would mandate all businesses to desegregate. He was a student government leader. Click here to sign up for email and text alerts. He had to move to Massachusetts because the publicity made it difficult to get a job in Greensboro. In 1965, he moved to New Bedford, Massachusetts, where he worked as a teacher and counselor for the developmentally challenged. They refused. He attended law school at Howard University for almost a year before a variety of maladies forced him out. Khazan is married to the former Lorraine France George of New Bedford. In 1991, Khazan received an honorary doctorate of humanities degree from North Carolina A&T State University. In 1963, Khazan graduated from A&T College with a Bachelor's degree in sociology and Social Studies. 20072023 Blackpast.org. Some content (or its descriptions) found on this site may be harmful and difficult to view. 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. Ezell A. Blair, Jr. Death Fact Check Ezell is alive and kicking and is currently 81 years old. On February 1, 1960, four college students - Ezell Blair, Jr. (now Jibreel Khazan), David Richmond, Franklin McCain and Joseph McNeil - sat read more. They waited. 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. 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. This page was last modified on 24 April 2023, at 04:46. Did you know? The protests, and the subsequent events were major milestone in the Civil Rights Movement. 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. 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. 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. BlackPast.org is a 501(c)(3) non-profit and our EIN is 26-1625373. The sit-ins establish a crucial kind of leadership and organizing of young people, says Jeanne Theoharis, a Brooklyn College political science professor. 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. 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. [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. They also did not give up their seats when a police officer arrived and menacingly slapped his nightstick against his hand directly behind them. 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. Denied service, the four young men refused to give up their seats. They also worked with the NAACP to get the 1964 Civil Rights Act passed. He was captivated as King addressed the audience in attendance. Powered by. 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. 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.
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