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. 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. 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. 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. Woolworth's whites-only lunch counter in Greensboro to protest segregation. Please ignore rumors and hoaxes. In 1958, Khazan heard King speak at the local Bennett College. He had to move to Massachusetts because the publicity made it difficult to get a job in Greensboro. In 1963, Khazan graduated from A&T College with a Bachelor's degree in sociology and Social Studies. 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. by mcgorry. Notes about review of interview transcripts with Carmichael, Ezell Blair, Lucy Thornton, and Jean Wheeler. 0 54. On February 1, 1960, four college students - Ezell Blair, Jr. (now Jibreel Khazan), David Richmond, Franklin McCain and Joseph McNeil - sat read more. 20072023 Blackpast.org. Ezell A. Blair, Jr. - Dead or Kicking 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. In 1965, he moved to New Bedford, Massachusetts, where he worked as a teacher and counselor for the developmentally challenged. (No photographers were allowed into Woolworth's during this first protest; this is the only photo of all four original protesters together.). On February 1, 1960, Blair, along with McNeil, Franklin and Richmond, took the bold step of violating the Greensboro Woolworth's segregation policy. Facts to Know About the Greensboro Four and Sit-In Movement - Spectrum News This page was last modified on 24 April 2023, at 04:46. Four Black Woolworths employeesGeneva Tisdale, Susie Morrison, Anetha Jones and Charles Bestwere the first to be served. Not only were lunch counters across the country integrated one by one, a student movement was galvanized. These materials may be graphic or reflect biases. 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. He was captivated as King addressed the audience in attendance. Activist Ella Baker, then director of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, organized the youth-centered groups first meeting. The sit-ins not only attracted new protesters, they also drew counter-protesters who showed up to harass, insult and assault them. It was a small victoryand one that would build. Though many of the protesters were arrested for trespassing, disorderly conduct or disturbing the peace, their actions made an immediate and lasting impact, forcing Woolworths and other establishments to change their segregationist policies. The Greensboro sit-in is the subject of a Google Doodle on February 1, 2020 for the 60th anniversary of the action. Her writing has appeared in The Guardian, NBC News, The Atlantic, Business Insider and other outlets. In 1960, 4 young men sat at the Woolworth lunch counter in downtown The A&T Four: February 1st, 1960 He attended law school at Howard University for almost a year before a variety of maladies forced him out. Updated: January 25, 2022 | Original: February 4, 2010. 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. The year was 1960, and segregation raged throughout the country, but the students decided they had had enough. 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. 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. Original materials provided by the University of Kentucky and Yale University libraries and digitized with the permission of the Warren estate. They also did not give up their seats when a police officer arrived and menacingly slapped his nightstick against his hand directly behind them. 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. By the spring of 1960 the sit-in movement spread to 54 cities in nine states in the South. [1][2], Khazan was born Ezell Alexander Blair Jr. on October 18, 1941, in Greensboro, North Carolina. They also took inspiration from civil rights causes of years earlier, including the 1955 lynching of Emmett Till and the Montgomery bus boycott. Police arrested 41 students for trespassing at a Raleigh Woolworth. But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us! The sit-in demonstrations were just the beginning of Khazan's community involvement. Download it here. 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. Khazan was born Ezell Alexander Blair Jr. on October 18, 1941, in Greensboro, North Carolina. Nadra Nittle is a veteran journalist who is currently the education reporter for The 19th. The February One Monument is an important landmark on A&T's campus that sets it apart from other institutions. 0. 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. Ezell Blair Jr. net worth and salary income estimation The sit-ins establish a crucial kind of leadership and organizing of young people, says Jeanne Theoharis, a Brooklyn College political science professor. Greensboro Sit-In: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know | Heavy.com See MoreSee Less, Neighborhood children greet Ms. Gibson upon her return to Harlem after winning Wimbledon in 1957 The Belles resolved to serve as look-outs when the four men took their seats at the lunch counter on the first day. READ MORE: Civil Rights Movement: A Timeline. After graduation, He briefly studied law at Howard University Law School in Washington, DC. 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. The Greensboro sit-in was a major moment in the Civil Rights Movement. Ezell A. Blair, Jr. - Facts, Bio, Favorites, Info, Family 2021 As he had been labeled a "troublemaker" for his role in the Greensboro Sit-Ins, life in Greensboro became difficult for Khazan. 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. No one would serve them. 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. McCain was one of four N.C. A&T students who led sit-ins at the Woolworth lunch counter in downtown Greensboro in 1960. and received a B.S. He worked as a janitor and battled many demons, sad that he couldnt improve the world more than he had. [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. Another critical part of the protest was looping in the media. They were all students at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University in Greensboro. He changed his name to Jibreel Khazan and became involved in the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) and other civil rights organizations. 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. They waited some more. The university. All Rights Reserved. When four Black students refused to move from a segregated Woolworth's lunch counter in 1960, nation-wide student activism gained momentum. Counters in other cities did the same in subsequent months. Today In HistoryRobert C. Maynard bought the Oakland Tribune on this date April 30, 1983. From left to right: Jibreel Khazan (formerly Ezell Blair, Jr.), Franklin McCain, Joseph McNeill, and David Richmond. 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. 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. Ezell A. Blair, Jr. Death Fact Check Ezell is alive and kicking and is currently 81 years old. 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. Blair, Ezell Alexander, 1919-1997 - Civil Rights Digital Library - USG The Greensboro Four stayed put until the store closed, then returned the next day with more students from local colleges. He had been a high school track star and was born in Greensboro. 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.