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The students came to be called the Greensboro Four. SNCC also pushed King to take a more forceful stance against the war in Vietnam in 1967 and popularized the slogan Black Power! in 1966.. 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. They waited. What sparked the Greensboro Four, as the students were known, to take such courageous action? Greensboro sit-in, act of nonviolent protest against a segregated lunch counter in Greensboro, North Carolina, that began on February 1, 1960. Jibreel Khazan (now Ezell Blair Jr.) was one of the original four who took part in the Woolworth sit-ins. Greensboro Four | NCpedia 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. He then went into computer sales and worked as a stockbroker and commercial banker. He continued his education at Massachusetts University and later at the New England Conservatory of Music, where he studied voice. Ezell Blair Jr. - Infogalactic: the planetary knowledge core His 1964 interview describes the Greensboro sit-ins in Chapter 5 of Who Speaks for the Negro? The Greensboro Four stayed put until the store closed, then returned the next day with more students from local colleges. Khazan stated that he had seen a documentary on Mohandas Gandhi's use of "passive insistence" that had inspired him to act. A small donation would help us keep this available to all. 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. July 1, 2020. By Birth Year | By Birth Month | By Death Year | By Death Month | Random, Contact Us | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Copyright. [1][2], Khazan was born Ezell Alexander Blair Jr. on October 18, 1941, in Greensboro, North Carolina. Robert Penn Warren Center for the Humanities 2023 |. 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 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. Greensboro sit-in | History, Summary, Impact, & Facts Ezell Blair Jr. net worth and salary income estimation 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. 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. About a dozen Bennett Belles were also arrested at area sit-ins. In some cases, they may conflict with strongly held cultural values, beliefs or restrictions. 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. In three days, their numbers had swelled to 300. He majored in business administration and accounting and became a counselor-coordinator for the CETA program in Greensboro. Commemorative Landscapes of North Carolina | Greensboro Four Monument Biographies of the A&T Four Jibreel Khazan Jibreel Khazan (Ezell Blair, Jr.) was born in Greensboro, North Carolina on October 18, 1941. The protests, and the subsequent events were major milestone in the Civil Rights Movement. Ezell Blair, Jr. (later Jibreel Khazan), Franklin McCain, Joseph McNeil, and David Richmond organized the sit-in. All Rights Reserved. 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 store manager then approached the men, asking them to leave. We provide access to these materials to preserve the historical record, but we do not endorse the attitudes, prejudices, or behaviors found within them. 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. Google Ezell A. Blair Jr / SamePassage [10] On October 12, 2021, Khazan was honored with the renaming of a city park in the west end of New Bedford, MA. He was captivated as King addressed the audience in attendance. WATCH: The Civil Rights Movement on HISTORY Vault. 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. Franklin McCain, one of 'the Greensboro Four,' dies - Winston-Salem Journal They waited some more. [6], The sit-in demonstrations were just the beginning of Khazan's community involvement. Ezell Blair Jr. - IMDb Ezell Blair Jr. was the son of a teacher who received his B.S. See MoreSee Less, Neighborhood children greet Ms. Gibson upon her return to Harlem after winning Wimbledon in 1957 Did you know? According to History.com, they sat down and refused to leave, after having been denied service because of their race. Jan 27, 2020. Ezell A. Blair, Jr. is a well known Activist. Joseph McNeil Facts for Kids He changed his name to Jibreel Khazan and became involved in the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) and other civil rights organizations. He had to move to Massachusetts because the publicity made it difficult to get a job in Greensboro. [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. 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. Download it here. He was captivated as King addressed the audience in attendance. Original materials provided by the University of Kentucky and Yale University libraries and digitized with the permission of the Warren estate. 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. By the spring of 1960 the sit-in movement spread to 54 cities in nine states in the South. Our Spectrum News app is the most convenient way to get the stories that matter to you. 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. Khazan received his early education from Dudley High School, where his father taught. All Rights Reserved. Four Black Woolworths employeesGeneva Tisdale, Susie Morrison, Anetha Jones and Charles Bestwere the first to be served. In 1959, Khazan graduated from James B. Dudley High School, and entered the A&T College of North Carolina. Your donation is fully tax-deductible. The Greensboro sit-in is the subject of a Google Doodle on February 1, 2020 for the 60th anniversary of the action. After graduation, He briefly studied law at Howard University Law School in Washington, DC. At the end of July, when many local college students were on summer vacation, the Greensboro Woolworths quietly integrated its lunch counter. 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. They were students at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical College. From left to right: Jibreel Khazan (formerly Ezell Blair, Jr.), Franklin McCain, Joseph McNeill, and David Richmond. He participated in Freedom Rides, voter registration drives, and other forms of nonviolent direct action to challenge segregation and promote equality and justice for all. 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? 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. Woolworth's whites-only lunch counter in Greensboro to protest segregation. He had to move to Massachusetts because the publicity made it. Sit-in demonstrations by Black college students grew at the Woolworth's in Greensboro and other local stores, February 6, 1960. A&T Four: A Closer Look | Digital Collections | North Carolina Get the latest news, sports and weather delivered straight to your inbox. 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 He later moved to New Bedford, Massachusetts, where he changed his name to 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.". They were all students at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University in Greensboro. Description. Jibreel Khazan (previously Ezell Blair, Jr). [4] Shortly before his death, McCain was interviewed by his granddaughter, Taylor, who asked him to define freedom. He attended law school at Howard University for almost a year before a variety of maladies forced him out. His name is now Jibreel Khazan. HISTORY reviews and updates its content regularly to ensure it is complete and accurate. 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. In addition to desegregating dining establishments, the sit-ins led to the creation of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee in Raleigh. 2023, A&E Television Networks, LLC. Digital archive created and designed by the Robert Penn Warren Center for the Humanities at Vanderbilt University. and received a B.S. In 1960, 4 young men sat at the Woolworth lunch counter in downtown