[3] In 1963, Khazan graduated from A&T College with a Bachelor's degree in sociology and Social Studies. In some cases, they may conflict with strongly held cultural values, beliefs or restrictions. He later moved to New Bedford, Massachusetts, where he changed his name to Jibreel Khazan. July 1, 2020. The white waiter refused and suggested they order a take-out meal from the "stand-up" counter. On Feb. 1, 1960, freshmen David Richmond, Franklin McCain, Joseph McNeil and Ezell Blair Jr. (now Jibreel Khazan) sat at F.W. 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. 2023, A&E Television Networks, LLC. 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. Greensboro Four Biography | Infoplease He continued his education at Massachusetts University and later at the New England Conservatory of Music, where he studied voice. As he had been labeled a "troublemaker" for his role in the Greensboro Sit-Ins, life in Greensboro became difficult for Khazan. 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. Jibreel Khazan (Ezell Blair Jr.), one of the Greensboro Four On February 1, 1960, four college students - Ezell Blair, Jr. (now Jibreel Khazan), David Richmond, Franklin McCain and Joseph McNeil - sat read more. 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. By the early 1970s, SNCC had lost much of its mainstream support and was effectively disbanded. 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. 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. In 1958, Khazan heard King speak at the local Bennett College. 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. In 1959, Khazan graduated from James B. Dudley High School, and entered the A&T College of North Carolina. Powered by. He served on university boards and received an honorary doctorate, according to the Civil Rights Digital Library. GREENSBORO Civil rights leader Franklin McCain has died. 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. The Greensboro sit-in is the subject of a Google Doodle on February 1, 2020 for the 60th anniversary of the action. [5] Khazan stated that he had seen a documentary on Mohandas Gandhi's use of "passive insistence" that had inspired him to act. 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. Her writing has appeared in The Guardian, NBC News, The Atlantic, Business Insider and other outlets. TV Shows. Ezell A. Blair, Jr. is a well known Activist. The store manager then approached the men, asking them to leave. in sociology in 1963. The sit-in movement soon spread to college towns throughout the South. Menu. By the spring of 1960 the sit-in movement spread to 54 cities in nine states in the South. Digital archive created and designed by the Robert Penn Warren Center for the Humanities at Vanderbilt University. All articles are regularly reviewed and updated by the HISTORY.com team. He then went into computer sales and worked as a stockbroker and commercial banker. He also has worked with the AFL/CIO Trade Council in Boston, the Opportunities Industrialization Center, and at the Rodman Job Corps Center. 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][8] Today Khazan is an oral historian, oracle, Mass-Star Story teller and lecturer. From left to right: Jibreel Khazan (formerly Ezell Blair, Jr.), Franklin McCain, Joseph McNeill, and David Richmond. But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us! 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. They were influenced by the nonviolent protest techniques of Mahatma Gandhi. February One: The Story of the Greensboro Sit-In | C-SPAN.org A&T Four is more than a monument, it's a moment that - Andscape But the students did not budge. [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. His 1964 interview describes the Greensboro sit-ins in Chapter 5 of Who Speaks for the Negro? But the acts of intimidation didnt stop the movement from building. We provide access to these materials to preserve the historical record, but we do not endorse the attitudes, prejudices, or behaviors found within them. Khazans courageous actions helped to bring attention to the injustices of segregation and inspired others to join the fight for civil rights. SNCC activists such as John Lewis took part in the 1961 Freedom Rides, the 1963 March on Washington, and the 1963 Freedom Summer effort. At that speech, King called for an escalation of nonviolent protests to end segregated accommodation. Today In HistoryRobert C. Maynard bought the Oakland Tribune on this date April 30, 1983. According to History.com, they sat down and refused to leave, after having been denied service because of their race. [4] It was said that when he experienced unjust treatment based on color, he "stood up. 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. Franklin McCain - Wikipedia He later moved to New Bedford, Massachusetts, where he changed his name to Jibreel Khazan. 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. Release Calendar Top 250 Movies Most Popular Movies Browse Movies by Genre Top Box Office Showtimes & Tickets Movie News India Movie Spotlight. About a dozen Bennett Belles were also arrested at area sit-ins. HISTORY reviews and updates its content regularly to ensure it is complete and accurate. This was a forerunner to the 1961 Freedom Rides, just as the 1942 sit-in at the Jack Spratt Coffee House in Chicago was a forerunner to the Greensboro sit-in of 1960. 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. 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 Blair is a member of famous Activist list. 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 The next day, they returned to the store with more students and continued their sit-in protest. 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. in sociology from North Carolina Agricultural & Technical State University in 1963. But they did not move. 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. [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? 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. See MoreSee Less, Today In HistoryEdward Kennedy Duke Ellington, the legendary composer and bandleader, was born in Washington, DC, on April 29, 1899. After graduation, He briefly studied law at Howard University Law School in Washington, DC. A Greensboro native, he graduated from Dudley High School and received a . 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.

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