ezell blair jr facts

They were students at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical College. African American History: Research Guides & Websites, Global African History: Research Guides & Websites, African American Scientists and Technicians of the Manhattan Project, Envoys, Diplomatic Ministers, & Ambassadors, North Carolina Agricultural & Technical State University, Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), Education - Historically Black Colleges (HBCU), Foundation, Organization, and Corporate Supporters. [11], Khazan is married to the former Lorraine France George of New Bedford. After graduation, He briefly studied law at Howard University Law School in Washington, DC. But the students did not budge. Four Black Woolworths employeesGeneva Tisdale, Susie Morrison, Anetha Jones and Charles Bestwere the first to be served. [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. 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. After nearly a week of protests, approximately 1,400 students showed up to the Greensboro Woolworth to demonstrate. 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. The next day, they returned to the store with more students and continued their sit-in protest. The students came to be called the Greensboro Four. Touring history with Avett Brothers' bassist Bob Crawford. 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. Powered by. The protests and the subsequent events were major milestones in the Civil Rights Movement. 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. SNCC was pivotal in pushing the Rev. Ezell A. Blair, Jr. (1941- ), referred to as Izell Blair inWho Speaks for the Negro?, is an American civil rights activist. Woolworth's whites-only lunch counter in Greensboro to protest segregation. She is the author of Toni Morrison's Spiritual Vision and other books. 2023, A&E Television Networks, LLC. As he had been labeled a "troublemaker" for his role in the Greensboro Sit-Ins, life in Greensboro became difficult for Khazan. 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. He was captivated as King addressed the audience in attendance. They were refused service and sat peacefully until the store closed. For starters, according to History.com, they were upset about the 1955 murder of Emmett Till, who was slain after being accused of whistling at a white woman in Mississippi. 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. 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 Jr. was the son of a teacher who received his B.S. Jibreel Khazan (previously Ezell Blair, Jr). 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. 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. He was a Major General in the Air Force Reserves and started diversity initiatives that changed the Air Force forever. Their names were Ezell Blair Jr., David Richmond, Franklin McCain and Joseph McNeil. They waited. 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. Woolworth's store. [4] Shortly before his death, McCain was interviewed by his granddaughter, Taylor, who asked him to define freedom. He changed his name to Jibreel Khazan and became involved in the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) and other civil rights organizations. A small donation would help us keep this available to all. Nadra Nittle is a veteran journalist who is currently the education reporter for The 19th. Another critical part of the protest was looping in the media. 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. He then went into computer sales and worked as a stockbroker and commercial banker. He had been a high school track star and was born in Greensboro. They have three children, one of whom graduated from A & T. Do you find this information helpful? 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. About a dozen Bennett Belles were also arrested at area sit-ins. He also has worked with the AFL/CIO Trade Council in Boston, the Opportunities Industrialization Center, and at the Rodman Job Corps Center. All Rights Reserved. [10] On October 12, 2021, Khazan was honored with the renaming of a city park in the west end of New Bedford, MA. 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. Notes about review of interview transcripts with Carmichael, Ezell Blair, Lucy Thornton, and Jean Wheeler. Biographies of the A&T Four Jibreel Khazan Jibreel Khazan (Ezell Blair, Jr.) was born in Greensboro, North Carolina on October 18, 1941. He was a student government leader. By the end of March 1960, the movement had spread to 55 cities in 13 states. WATCH: The Civil Rights Movement on HISTORY Vault. The February One Monument is an important landmark on A&T's campus that sets it apart from other institutions. He worked as a janitor and battled many demons, sad that he couldnt improve the world more than he had. See MoreSee Less, Today In HistoryEdward Kennedy Duke Ellington, the legendary composer and bandleader, was born in Washington, DC, on April 29, 1899. The Greensboro Four, as they came to be known, acted to challenge the lunch counters refusal to serve African Americans. Google says they were also influenced by the techniques of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. He had to move to Massachusetts because the publicity made it difficult to get a job in Greensboro. 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. Joseph McNeil earned a degree in engineering physics in 1963 and joined the U.S. Air Force, where he became a captain. All Rights Reserved. by mcgorry. But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us! 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. They refused to leave when denied service and stayed until the store closed. In addition to desegregating dining establishments, the sit-ins led to the creation of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee in Raleigh. CNN.com describes what the students went through when they staged the Greensboro sit-in. Woolworth. He attended law school at Howard University for almost a year before a variety of maladies forced him out. 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. All four were students from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical College. 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.. Digital archive created and designed by the Robert Penn Warren Center for the Humanities at Vanderbilt University. 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. 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. was the son of a teacher who received his B.S. By February 5, some 300 students had joined the protest at Woolworths, paralyzing the lunch counter and other local businesses. The Greensboro Fours efforts inspired a sit-in movement that eventually spread to 55 cities in 13 states. 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. 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. After graduation, He briefly studied law at Howard University Law School in Washington, DC. Khazan is married to the former Lorraine France George of New Bedford. In 1968, he joined the Islamic Center of New England and changed his name to Jibreel Khazan. Heavy television coverage of the Greensboro sit-ins sparked a sit-in movement that quickly spread to college towns throughout the South and into the North, as young Black and white people joined in various forms of peaceful protest against segregation in libraries, beaches, hotels and other establishments. The sit-ins establish a crucial kind of leadership and organizing of young people, says Jeanne Theoharis, a Brooklyn College political science professor. The store manager then approached the men, asking them to leave. At that speech, King called for an escalation of nonviolent protests to end segregated accommodation. 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. 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. A Greensboro native, he graduated from Dudley High School and received a . 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. By the spring of 1960 the sit-in movement spread to 54 cities in nine states in the South. 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. McNeil worked in the university library with a fellow activist, Eula Hudgens, who encouraged him to protest. It took months, but on July 25, 1960, the Greensboro Woolworth lunch counter was finally integrated. In 1959, Khazan graduated from James B. Dudley High School, and entered the A&T College of North Carolina. When four Black students refused to move from a segregated Woolworth's lunch counter in 1960, nation-wide student activism gained momentum. [5] Khazan stated that he had seen a documentary on Mohandas Gandhi's use of "passive insistence" that had inspired him to act. The figures are depicted walking out of Woolworth's . in sociology from North Carolina Agricultural & Technical State University in 1963. One of the original Greensboro Four who took part in the Woolworth sit-ins. SNCC worked alongside the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) to push passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and would later mount an organized resistance to the Vietnam War. 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. 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. He had to move to Massachusetts because the publicity made it. 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. Get the latest news, sports and weather delivered straight to your inbox. At the time of the protest, he was a student at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, where he was studying engineering. As he had been labeled a "troublemaker" for his role in the Greensboro Sit-Ins, life in Greensboro became difficult for Khazan. Click here to sign up for email and text alerts. From left to right: Jibreel Khazan (formerly Ezell Blair, Jr.), Franklin McCain, Joseph McNeill, and David Richmond. In 1958, Khazan heard King speak at the local Bennett College. The Greensboro sit-in was a major moment in the Civil Rights Movement. This is the real beginnings of TV media; people can see the sit-in and imagine how they would do it themselves, said Theoharis, author of The Rebellious Life of Mrs. Rosa Parks. Your donation is fully tax-deductible. This page was last modified on 24 April 2023, at 04:46. 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 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. Khazans courageous actions helped to bring attention to the injustices of segregation and inspired others to join the fight for civil rights. 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. Together they have three children. On February 1, 1960, four college students - Ezell Blair, Jr. (now Jibreel Khazan), David Richmond, Franklin McCain and Joseph McNeil - sat read more. As of 2018 Ezell Blair is 76 years years old. Release Calendar Top 250 Movies Most Popular Movies Browse Movies by Genre Top Box Office Showtimes & Tickets Movie News India Movie Spotlight. Ezell A. Blair, Jr. Death Fact Check Ezell is alive and kicking and is currently 81 years old. Lunch counter sit-ins then moved beyond Greensboro to North Carolina cities such as Charlotte, Durham and Winston-Salem. 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 Four years later, The Civil Rights Act of 1964 would mandate all businesses to desegregate. Jan 27, 2020. 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. In three days, their numbers had swelled to 300. 20072023 Blackpast.org. Original materials provided by the University of Kentucky and Yale University libraries and digitized with the permission of the Warren estate. 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. We provide access to these materials to preserve the historical record, but we do not endorse the attitudes, prejudices, or behaviors found within them. Its success led to a wider sit-in movement, organized primarily by the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), that spread throughout the South. 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. 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. 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. 0. 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. In addition, the four men each have residence halls named for them on the university campus. The white waiter refused and suggested they order a take-out meal from the "stand-up" counter. 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. McCain was one of four N.C. A&T students who led sit-ins at the Woolworth lunch counter in downtown Greensboro in 1960. Eventually, they prevailed, and Woolworths stopped segregating its dining area on July 25th, 1960, Google reports. Khazan works with developmentally disabled people for the CETA program in New Bedford, Mass. 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. Denied service, the four young men refused to give up their seats. Ezell A. Blair, Jr. was born on October 18, 1941 and is 81 years old now. See MoreSee Less, Neighborhood children greet Ms. Gibson upon her return to Harlem after winning Wimbledon in 1957 The Greensboro sit-in was a major moment in the American civil rights movement when young African-American students staged a sit-in at a segregated Woolworths lunch counter in North Carolina. He was captivated as King addressed the audience in attendance. Police arrested 41 students for trespassing at a Raleigh Woolworth. They also did not give up their seats when a police officer arrived and menacingly slapped his nightstick against his hand directly behind them. 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. Did you know? From left to right: Jibreel Khazan (formerly Ezell Blair, Jr.), Franklin McCain, Joseph McNeill, and David Richmond. 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. 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. They refused. The university. What sparked the Greensboro Four, as the students were known, to take such courageous action? 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 later moved to New Bedford, Massachusetts, where he changed his name to Jibreel Khazan. 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). They were influenced by the nonviolent protest techniques of Mahatma Gandhi. Greensboro Sit-In: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know, Copyright 2023 Heavy, Inc. All rights reserved. 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. 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. Robert Penn Warren Center for the Humanities 2023 |. In response to the success of the sit-in movement, dining facilities across the South were being integrated by the summer of 1960. Hudgens had participated in the 1947 Journey of Reconciliation against racial segregation on interstate buses. 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. The year was 1960, and segregation raged throughout the country, but the students decided they had had enough. Not only were lunch counters across the country integrated one by one, a student movement was galvanized. 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. Blair and the other three students were refused service when they sat down at Woolworths lunch counter, but they refused to leave and stayed at the counter until the store closed. in sociology in 1963. Google Copyright: Jack Moebes/Corbis. "[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. As demonstrations spread to 13 states, the focus of the sit-ins expanded, with students not only protesting segregated lunch counters but also segregated hotels, beaches and libraries. The reaction was ugly in the short-term, but in the long-term the protests spread and made real change. After graduating from A&T in 1963, Blair encountered difficulties finding a job in his native Greensboro. At the time of the protest, he was a student at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, where he was studying engineering. His 1964 interview describes the Greensboro sit-ins in Chapter 5 of Who Speaks for the Negro? 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.". 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.
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