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. [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? Jan 27, 2020. Report Video . Together they have three children. Khazan was born Ezell Alexander Blair Jr. on October 18, 1941, in Greensboro, North Carolina. Please ignore rumors and hoaxes. He worked as a janitor and battled many demons, sad that he couldnt improve the world more than he had. Google [9] In 2010, Khazan was the recipient of the James Smithson Bicentennial Medal from the Smithsonian Institution. But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us! Biographies of the A&T Four Jibreel Khazan Jibreel Khazan (Ezell Blair, Jr.) was born in Greensboro, North Carolina on October 18, 1941. See MoreSee Less. 2023, Charter Communications, all rights reserved. according to the Civil Rights Digital Library. They were all students at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University in Greensboro. Copyright: Jack Moebes/Corbis. Today, he is remembered as a hero of the Civil Rights Movement and a symbol of the power of nonviolent resistance to bring about change. 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.". He served on university boards and received an honorary doctorate, according to the Civil Rights Digital Library. By the early 1970s, SNCC had lost much of its mainstream support and was effectively disbanded. 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. She is the author of Toni Morrison's Spiritual Vision and other books. The Greensboro Fours efforts inspired a sit-in movement that eventually spread to 55 cities in 13 states. On Feb. 1, 1960, freshmen David Richmond, Franklin McCain, Joseph McNeil and Ezell Blair Jr. (now Jibreel Khazan) sat at F.W. 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 . The Greensboro Four stayed put until the store closed, then returned the next day with more students from local colleges. Robert C. Maynard, the first African American editor and owner of a major daily newspaper in the United States, was known as a trailblazing journalist who led efforts to desegregate newsrooms and educ Duke Ellington, byname of Edward Kennedy Ellington, (born April 29, 1899, Washington, D.C., U.S.died May 24, 1974, New York, N.Y.), American pianist who was the greatest jazz composer and bandleade Frances role in the Trans Atlantic Slave, African Chiefs role in the Trans Atlantic, sit-in protest at Woolworths lunch counter, Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), Neighborhood children greet Ms. Gibson upon her return to Harlem after winning Wimbledon in 1957. We strive for accuracy and fairness. He continued his education at Massachusetts University and later at the New England Conservatory of Music, where he studied voice.[7]. 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. [11], Khazan is married to the former Lorraine France George of New Bedford. "[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. Today Khazan is an oral historian, oracle, Mass-Star Story teller and lecturer. He lives in New York. He later moved to New Bedford, Massachusetts, where he changed his name to Jibreel Khazan. While lunch counter sit-ins had taken place before, the four young men from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University drew national attention to the cause. 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. The students had received guidance from mentor activists and collaborated with students from Greensboro's all-women's Bennett College. 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. 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. 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. 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.. [5] Khazan stated that he had seen a documentary on Mohandas Gandhi's use of "passive insistence" that had inspired him to act. Ezell A. Blair, Jr. Death Fact Check Ezell is alive and kicking and is currently 81 years old. He attended law school at Howard University for almost a year before a variety of maladies forced him out. McCain was one of four N.C. A&T students who led sit-ins at the Woolworth lunch counter in downtown Greensboro in 1960. 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. 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. 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. Blair was president of the junior class, the student government association, the campus NAACP and the Greensboro Congress of Racial Equality. Some content (or its descriptions) found on this site may be harmful and difficult to view. Powered by. CNN.com describes what the students went through when they staged the Greensboro sit-in. Eventually, they prevailed, and Woolworths stopped segregating its dining area on July 25th, 1960, Google reports. As of 2018 Ezell Blair is 76 years years old. The white waiter refused and suggested they order a take-out meal from the "stand-up" counter. The Greensboro sit-in. 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. All articles are regularly reviewed and updated by the HISTORY.com team. 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. [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. He was captivated as King addressed the audience in attendance. 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. All Rights Reserved. On February 1, 1960, Blair, along with McNeil, Franklin and Richmond, took the bold step of violating the Greensboro Woolworth's segregation policy. Frye Gaillard, The Greensboro Four: Civil Rights Pioneers (Charlotte, N.C.: Main Street Rag Publishing Co., 2001); William H. Chafe, Civilities and Civil Rights: Greensboro, North Carolina, and the Black Struggle for Freedom (New York: Oxford University Press, 1980). In 1991, Khazan received an honorary doctorate of humanities degree from North Carolina A&T State University. Khazan works with developmentally disabled people for the CETA program in New Bedford, Mass. "[5], In 1959, Khazan graduated from James B. Dudley High School, and entered the A&T College of North Carolina. Google says they were also influenced by the techniques of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. In 2010, Khazan was the recipient of the James Smithson Bicentennial Medal from the Smithsonian Institution. 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. One of the original Greensboro Four who took part in the Woolworth sit-ins. [3][8] Today Khazan is an oral historian, oracle, Mass-Star Story teller and lecturer. 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. A Greensboro native, he graduated from Dudley High School and received a . Multiple lunch counter sit-ins had taken place in the Midwest, East Coast and South in the 1940s and 1950s, but these demonstrations didnt garner national attention. BlackPast.org is a 501(c)(3) non-profit and our EIN is 26-1625373. He continued his education at Massachusetts University and later at the New England Conservatory of Music, where he studied voice. 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. The Greensboro Four, as they came to be known, acted to challenge the lunch counters refusal to serve African Americans. 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. McCain's death left Ezell Blair (now Jibreel Khazan) and Joseph McNeil as the two surviving members of the Greensboro Four. 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. Ezell A. Blair Jr. was one of the four African American college students who initiated the sit-in protest at Woolworths lunch counter in Greensboro, North Carolina, on February 1, 1960. In some cases, they may conflict with strongly held cultural values, beliefs or restrictions. 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. The four students were inspired by the nonviolent teachings of Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr., and they believed that peaceful direct action was the best way to bring about change. In 1991, Khazan received an honorary doctorate of humanities degree from North Carolina A&T State University. By February 5, some 300 students had joined the protest at Woolworths, paralyzing the lunch counter and other local businesses. His life was threatened, so he moved to a mountain community, according to Carolina Theatre. We provide access to these materials to preserve the historical record, but we do not endorse the attitudes, prejudices, or behaviors found within them. What sparked the Greensboro Four, as the students were known, to take such courageous action? In addition, the four men each have residence halls named for them on the university campus. The university. Touring history with Avett Brothers' bassist Bob Crawford. 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. HISTORY.com works with a wide range of writers and editors to create accurate and informative content. Download it here. The protests and the subsequent events were major milestones in the Civil Rights Movement. [1][2], Khazan was born Ezell Alexander Blair Jr. on October 18, 1941, in Greensboro, North Carolina. HISTORY reviews and updates its content regularly to ensure it is complete and accurate. 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. 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. About a dozen Bennett Belles were also arrested at area sit-ins. By the spring of 1960 the sit-in movement spread to 54 cities in nine states in the South. 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. and received a B.S. 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

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