ezell blair jr facts

Four Black Woolworths employeesGeneva Tisdale, Susie Morrison, Anetha Jones and Charles Bestwere the first to be served. "[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. Get the latest news, sports and weather delivered straight to your inbox. The four North Carolina A & T students are (L-R): David Richmond, Franklin McCain, Ezell Blair, Jr., and Joseph McNeil. 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. 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 Hudgens had participated in the 1947 Journey of Reconciliation against racial segregation on interstate buses. Khazan is married to the former Lorraine France George of New Bedford. The four men who were denied service at a Woolworth store in Greensboro, North Carolina, pose in front of the store on February 1, 1990. 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. In 2010, Khazan was the recipient of the James Smithson Bicentennial Medal from the Smithsonian Institution. They refused to leave when denied service and stayed until the store closed. They waited some more. Jibreel Khazan (now Ezell Blair Jr.) was one of the original four who took part in the Woolworth sit-ins. 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. What sparked the Greensboro Four, as the students were known, to take such courageous action? All articles are regularly reviewed and updated by the HISTORY.com team. But the students did not budge. The university. 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. Activist Ella Baker, then director of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, organized the youth-centered groups first meeting. Google says they were also influenced by the techniques of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. He continued his education at Massachusetts University and later at the New England Conservatory of Music, where he studied voice. 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. 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. 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. Ezell Blair Jr. was the son of a teacher who received his B.S. 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. 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. 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. in sociology in 1963. 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. In addition to desegregating dining establishments, the sit-ins led to the creation of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee in Raleigh. One of the original Greensboro Four who took part in the Woolworth sit-ins. 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. Report Video . Ezell A. Blair, Jr. was born on October 18, 1941 and is 81 years old now. The protests and the subsequent events were major milestones in the Civil Rights Movement. ", 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. We strive for accuracy and fairness. 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. 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. Lunch counter sit-ins then moved beyond Greensboro to North Carolina cities such as Charlotte, Durham and Winston-Salem. 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. 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. They were students at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical College. He had been a high school track star and was born in Greensboro. Nadra Nittle is a veteran journalist who is currently the education reporter for The 19th. The store manager then approached the men, asking them to leave. In 1968, he joined the Islamic Center of New England and changed his name to Jibreel Khazan. according to the Civil Rights Digital Library. 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.. 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. But they did not move. 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. Martin Luther King Jr. to join them in integrating the cafeteria at Richs Department Store in Atlanta in 1960, Guzmn says. The movement was about simple dignity, respect, access, equal opportunity, and most importantly the legal and constitutional concerns., READ MORE:8 Steps That Paved the Way to the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Khazan received his early education from Dudley High School, where his father taught. [10] On October 12, 2021, Khazan was honored with the renaming of a city park in the west end of New Bedford, MA. McCain's death left Ezell Blair (now Jibreel Khazan) and Joseph McNeil as the two surviving members of the Greensboro Four. 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. In 1968, he joined the Islamic Center of New England and changed his name to Jibreel Khazan. 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. A Greensboro native, he graduated from Dudley High School and received a . Your donation is fully tax-deductible. READ MORE: Civil Rights Movement: A Timeline. The next day, they returned to the store with more students and continued their sit-in protest. None of it deterred the protesters. Our Spectrum News app is the most convenient way to get the stories that matter to you. We provide access to these materials to preserve the historical record, but we do not endorse the attitudes, prejudices, or behaviors found within them. CNN.com describes what the students went through when they staged the Greensboro sit-in. [5] Khazan stated that he had seen a documentary on Mohandas Gandhi's use of "passive insistence" that had inspired him to act. BlackPast.org is a 501(c)(3) non-profit and our EIN is 26-1625373. He was a student government leader. The year was 1960, and segregation raged throughout the country, but the students decided they had had enough. 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. Eventually the manager closed the store early and the men leftwith the rest of the customers. 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. Movies. 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. He then went into computer sales and worked as a stockbroker and commercial banker. They told him to do what he must and to carry himself with dignity and grace. They waited. 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. 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 . 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. Copyright: Jack Moebes/Corbis. 0 54. At the time of the protest, he was a student at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, where he was studying engineering. 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. 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. [6], The sit-in demonstrations were just the beginning of Khazan's community involvement. Another critical part of the protest was looping in the media. In 1958, Khazan heard King speak at the local Bennett College. Blair was president of the junior class, the student government association, the campus NAACP and the Greensboro Congress of Racial Equality. 2023, A&E Television Networks, LLC. 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. 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.". 0. The Greensboro Four, as they came to be known, acted to challenge the lunch counters refusal to serve African Americans. From left to right: Jibreel Khazan (formerly Ezell Blair, Jr.), Franklin McCain, Joseph McNeill, and David Richmond. David Richmond died young. 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 Its success led to a wider sit-in movement, organized primarily by the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), that spread throughout the South. [4] Shortly before his death, McCain was interviewed by his granddaughter, Taylor, who asked him to define freedom. On February 1, 1960, Blair, along with McNeil, Franklin and Richmond, took the bold step of violating the Greensboro Woolworth's segregation policy. About a dozen Bennett Belles were also arrested at area sit-ins. Counters in other cities did the same in subsequent months. Her writing has appeared in The Guardian, NBC News, The Atlantic, Business Insider and other outlets. Blair was president of the junior class, the student government association, the campus NAACP and the Greensboro Congress of Racial Equality. [3] In 1963, Khazan graduated from A&T College with a Bachelor's degree in sociology and Social Studies. Four years later, The Civil Rights Act of 1964 would mandate all businesses to desegregate. 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. All Rights Reserved. At the time of the protest, he was a student at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, where he was studying engineering. Woolworth. 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. In addition, the four men each have residence halls named for them on the university campus. [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? All four were students from North. After graduating from A&T in 1963, Blair encountered difficulties finding a job in his native Greensboro. At that speech, King called for an escalation of nonviolent protests to end segregated accommodation. When four Black students refused to move from a segregated Woolworth's lunch counter in 1960, nation-wide student activism gained momentum. 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. By the spring of 1960 the sit-in movement spread to 54 cities in nine states in the South. His name is now Jibreel Khazan. He continued his education at Massachusetts University and later at the New England Conservatory of Music, where he studied voice.[7]. His life was threatened, so he moved to a mountain community, according to Carolina Theatre. He majored in business administration and accounting and became a counselor-coordinator for the CETA program in Greensboro. He was 49 years old when he died in 1990 and received a posthumous honorary doctorate degree from At&T State University. They were influenced by the nonviolent protest techniques practiced by Mohandas Gandhi, as well as the Freedom Rides organized by the Congress for Racial Equality (CORE) in 1947, in which interracial activists rode across the South in buses to test a recent Supreme Court decision banning segregation in interstate bus travel. July 1, 2020. 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. 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.

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