On February 1, 1960, four African American students – Ezell A. Blair, Jr. (also known as Jibreel Khazan), David Leinhail Richmond, Joseph Alfred McNeil, and Franklin Eugene McCain – from North Carolina A & T State University, sat at a segregated lunch counter at Woolworth’s in downtown Greensboro, NC. The lunch counter only offered stools for whites while blacks had to stand and eat. After sitting down they were refused service but they were allowed to stay at the counter. The four students were aware that Woolworth’s would not serve blacks at their lunch counter but they sat down anyway. The “Greensboro Four,” along with friends and supporters, returned to the counter every day for six months until the lunch counter was desegregated. This protest and the many events that occurred the days following this event sparked sit-ins and economic boycotts that became a hallmark of the Civil Rights Movement.
Today, the 50th anniversary of the Greensboro Four, the International Civil Rights Center & Museum opened in the same building that once housed the Woolworth’s store, honoring these men and thousands of others who stood up against injustice.
Democracy is a lot more than simply voting. It is about citizenship – Big Citizenship, as it has been more recently termed. These four men are the personification of Big Citizenship.
Les Bernal
In case you missed it, A call to arms explains the 8 representatives taking a stand in favor of having Open Meetings laws, FOIA, etc. also apply to the legislature of Massachusetts.
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p>Rep. Brownsberger even resigned his Vice Chairmanship.