ezell blair jr facts

As he had been labeled a "troublemaker" for his role in the Greensboro Sit-Ins, life in Greensboro became difficult for Khazan. 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. 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 response to the success of the sit-in movement, dining facilities across the South were being integrated by the summer of 1960. 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. Joseph McNeil earned a degree in engineering physics in 1963 and joined the U.S. Air Force, where he became a captain. Click here to sign up for email and text alerts. 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. He graduated from James B. Dudley High School in 1959 and began his freshman year at A&T College having received an A&T College Alumni Association Scholarship. 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. 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. By February 5, some 300 students had joined the protest at Woolworths, paralyzing the lunch counter and other local businesses. Release Calendar Top 250 Movies Most Popular Movies Browse Movies by Genre Top Box Office Showtimes & Tickets Movie News India Movie Spotlight. They were taking place in a lot of places before Greensboro., READ MORE: Follow the Freedom Riders' Journey Against Segregation. By the spring of 1960 the sit-in movement spread to 54 cities in nine states in the South. Touring history with Avett Brothers' bassist Bob Crawford. See MoreSee Less. He attended law school at Howard University for almost a year before a variety of maladies forced him out. GREENSBORO Civil rights leader Franklin McCain has died. They waited. Khazan is married to the former Lorraine France George of New Bedford. Franklin McCain - Wikipedia Greensboro Sit-In: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know, Copyright 2023 Heavy, Inc. All rights reserved. About a dozen Bennett Belles were also arrested at area sit-ins. ", 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. according to the Civil Rights Digital Library. Ezell A. Blair, Jr. was born on October 18, 1941 and is 81 years old now. 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. After the Greensboro sit-ins, Blair became a prominent civil rights activist and organizer. 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. Four years later, The Civil Rights Act of 1964 would mandate all businesses to desegregate. 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. We strive for accuracy and fairness. Khazan received his early education from Dudley High School, where his father taught. A&T Four: A Closer Look | Digital Collections | North Carolina Khazan was born Ezell Alexander Blair Jr. on October 18, 1941, in Greensboro, North Carolina. At the time of the protest, he was a student at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, where he was studying engineering. The Greensboro sit-in wasnt a random act of rebellion, but the result of months of planning. The Greensboro Fours efforts inspired a sit-in movement that eventually spread to 55 cities in 13 states. He changed his name to Jibreel Khazan and became involved in the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) and other civil rights organizations. [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? He had been a high school track star and was born in Greensboro. In 1958, Khazan heard King speak at the local Bennett College. After graduating from A&T in 1963, Blair encountered difficulties finding a job in his native Greensboro. Greensboro sit-in - Students | Britannica Kids | Homework Help Jibreel Khazan (now Ezell Blair Jr.) was one of the original four who took part in the Woolworth sit-ins. The Greensboro sit-in is the subject of a Google Doodle on February 1, 2020 for the 60th anniversary of the action. He was a student government leader. Ezell Blair Jr.. Self: February One: The Story of the Greensboro Four. From left to right: Jibreel Khazan (formerly Ezell Blair, Jr.), Franklin McCain, Joseph McNeill, and David Richmond. 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 figures are depicted walking out of Woolworth's . 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. 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.. (No photographers were allowed into Woolworth's during this first protest; this is the only photo of all four original protesters together.). As he had been labeled a "troublemaker" for his role in the Greensboro Sit-Ins, life in Greensboro became difficult for Khazan. Four Black Woolworths employeesGeneva Tisdale, Susie Morrison, Anetha Jones and Charles Bestwere the first to be served. Eventually, they prevailed, and Woolworths stopped segregating its dining area on July 25th, 1960, Google reports. It was said that when he experienced unjust treatment based on color, he "stood up." He participated in Freedom Rides, voter registration drives, and other forms of nonviolent direct action to challenge segregation and promote equality and justice for all. Notes about review of interview transcripts with Carmichael, Ezell Blair, Lucy Thornton, and Jean Wheeler. But the students did not budge. 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. 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. 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. 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. From left to right: Jibreel Khazan (formerly Ezell Blair, Jr.), Franklin McCain, Joseph McNeill, and David Richmond. In 1991, Khazan received an honorary doctorate of humanities degree from North Carolina A&T State University. 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. Greensboro Sit-In: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know | Heavy.com SNCC activists such as John Lewis took part in the 1961 Freedom Rides, the 1963 March on Washington, and the 1963 Freedom Summer effort. When four Black students refused to move from a segregated Woolworth's lunch counter in 1960, nation-wide student activism gained momentum. The sit-in movement soon spread to college towns throughout the South. But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us! The year was 1960, and segregation raged throughout the country, but the students decided they had had enough. Please ignore rumors and hoaxes. After nearly a week of protests, approximately 1,400 students showed up to the Greensboro Woolworth to demonstrate. He was captivated as King addressed the audience in attendance. Menu. Police arrested 41 students for trespassing at a Raleigh Woolworth. Ezell A. Blair, Jr. - Dead or Kicking Another critical part of the protest was looping in the media. HISTORY reviews and updates its content regularly to ensure it is complete and accurate. 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. Ezell Blair Jr. was the son of a teacher who received his B.S. Your donation is fully tax-deductible. 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. But they did not move. Original materials provided by the University of Kentucky and Yale University libraries and digitized with the permission of the Warren estate. Khazans courageous actions helped to bring attention to the injustices of segregation and inspired others to join the fight for civil rights. [4] It was said that when he experienced unjust treatment based on color, he "stood up. 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. 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. Updated: January 25, 2022 | Original: February 4, 2010. HISTORY.com works with a wide range of writers and editors to create accurate and informative content. He went on to work with the developmentally disabled people for the CETA program in New Bedford, Mass. He also has worked with the AFL/CIO Trade Council in Boston and the Opportunities Industrialization Center and at the Rodman Job Corps Center, reports February One documentary. The Greensboro sit-in was a major moment in the Civil Rights Movement. 2023, A&E Television Networks, LLC. [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. Movies. 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. They have three children, one of whom graduated from A & T. Do you find this information helpful? 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. How the Greensboro Four Sit-In Sparked a Movement - History Birthday: October 18, 1941 How Old - Age: 81 Recently Passed Away Celebrities and Famous People. They also did not give up their seats when a police officer arrived and menacingly slapped his nightstick against his hand directly behind them. July 1, 2020. Its success led to a wider sit-in movement, organized primarily by the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), that spread throughout the South. Greensboro Sit-In - Facts, Date & Definition - History 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. Counters in other cities did the same in subsequent months. 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. On February 1, 1960, four college students - Ezell Blair, Jr. (now Jibreel Khazan), David Richmond, Franklin McCain and Joseph McNeil - sat read more. It may be easy to think that the sit-ins were about eating next to white people or about a hotdog and a coke, but, of course, it was more complex than that, Guzmn says. WATCH: The Civil Rights Movement on HISTORY Vault. They also took inspiration from civil rights causes of years earlier, including the 1955 lynching of Emmett Till and the Montgomery bus boycott. Ezell Blair Jr. net worth and salary income estimation Activist Ella Baker, then director of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, organized the youth-centered groups first meeting. According to History.com, they sat down and refused to leave, after having been denied service because of their race. by mcgorry. Martin Luther King Jr. to join them in integrating the cafeteria at Richs Department Store in Atlanta in 1960, Guzmn says. Updated: January 29, 2021 | Original: July 28, 2020. Ezell Blair Jr. was the son of a teacher who received his B.S. Ezell A. Blair Jr / SamePassage A&T Four is more than a monument, it's a moment that - Andscape Franklin McCain, one of 'the Greensboro Four,' dies - Winston-Salem Journal Today In HistoryRobert C. Maynard bought the Oakland Tribune on this date April 30, 1983. 0. Digital archive created and designed by the Robert Penn Warren Center for the Humanities at Vanderbilt University. 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. He had to move to Massachusetts because the publicity made it difficult to get a job in Greensboro. In 1965, he moved to New Bedford, Massachusetts, where he worked as a teacher and counselor for the developmentally challenged. 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. "[5], In 1959, Khazan graduated from James B. Dudley High School, and entered the A&T College of North Carolina. 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. Woolworth's store. The four North Carolina A & T students are (L-R): David Richmond, Franklin McCain, Ezell Blair, Jr., and Joseph McNeil. It took months, but on July 25, 1960, the Greensboro Woolworth lunch. On February 1, 1960, Blair, along with McNeil, Franklin and Richmond, took the bold step of violating the Greensboro Woolworth's segregation policy. On Feb. 1, 1960, freshmen David Richmond, Franklin McCain, Joseph McNeil and Ezell Blair Jr. (now Jibreel Khazan) sat at F.W. 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). 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 that time, Johns had already alerted the local media, who had arrived in full force to cover the events on television. 20072023 Blackpast.org. The reaction was ugly in the short-term, but in the long-term the protests spread and made real change. Photo of Jibreel Khazan Receiving Award (Ezell Blair, Jr.) He married the former Lorraine France George of New Bedford. Greensboro Four Biography | Infoplease The sit-ins establish a crucial kind of leadership and organizing of young people, says Jeanne Theoharis, a Brooklyn College political science professor. His 1964 interview describes the Greensboro sit-ins in Chapter 5 of Who Speaks for the Negro? Ezell Blair is a member of famous Activist list. None of it deterred the protesters. 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. Ezell A. Blair, Jr. - Facts, Bio, Favorites, Info, Family 2021 February One: The Story of the Greensboro Sit-In | C-SPAN.org 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. But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us! On February 1, 1960, Blair, along with McNeil, Franklin and Richmond, took the bold step of violating the Greensboro Woolworth's segregation policy. He went on to work for Celanese Corporation in Charlotte, North Carolina for 35 years, and he stayed active in the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund. 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. He worked as a janitor and battled many demons, sad that he couldnt improve the world more than he had. 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 Birth Year | By Birth Month | By Death Year | By Death Month | Random, Contact Us | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Copyright. 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. 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. Google On Feb. 1, 1960 four Black freshmen at North Carolina A&T State University, Franklin McCain, Joseph McNeil, Ezell Blair, Jr., and David Richmond, took seats at the segregated lunch counter of F. W. Woolworth's in Greensboro, N.C. 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. Facts for Kids 2023, Charter Communications, all rights reserved. [6], The sit-in demonstrations were just the beginning of Khazan's community involvement. 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 In 1958, Khazan heard King speak at the local Bennett College. 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. They were refused service and sat peacefully until the store closed. All Rights Reserved. Khazan works with developmentally disabled people for the CETA program in New Bedford, Mass. They refused to leave when denied service and stayed until the store closed. Sit-in demonstrations by Black college students grew at the Woolworth's in Greensboro and other local stores, February 6, 1960. See MoreSee Less, Neighborhood children greet Ms. Gibson upon her return to Harlem after winning Wimbledon in 1957 They also worked with the NAACP to get the 1964 Civil Rights Act passed. At that speech, King called for an escalation of nonviolent protests to end segregated accommodation. and received a B.S. Powered by. Copyright: Jack Moebes/Corbis. Franklin McCain graduated from A&T with a degree in chemistry and biology. In 1991, Khazan received an honorary doctorate of humanities degree from North Carolina A&T State University. All Rights Reserved. Ezell Blair Jr. - Wikipedia [9] In 2010, Khazan was the recipient of the James Smithson Bicentennial Medal from the Smithsonian Institution. In addition, the four men each have residence halls named for them on the university campus. He was a student government leader. Commemorative Landscapes of North Carolina | Greensboro Four Monument He then went into computer sales and worked as a stockbroker and commercial banker. 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. After graduating from A&T in 1963, Blair encountered difficulties finding a job in his native Greensboro. February One: The Story of the Greensboro Four - PBS By the spring of 1960 the sit-in movement spread to 54 cities in nine states in the South. Ezell Blair Jr. - Infogalactic: the planetary knowledge core [3][8] Today Khazan is an oral historian, oracle, Mass-Star Story teller and lecturer. The February One Monument is an important landmark on A&T's campus that sets it apart from other institutions. At that speech, King called for an escalation of nonviolent protests to end segregated accommodation. According to History.com, they also were influenced by Mohandas Gandhi and the Freedom Riders and their principles of non-violent protest. Together they have three children. BlackPast.org is a 501(c)(3) non-profit and our EIN is 26-1625373. He was a Major General in the Air Force Reserves and started diversity initiatives that changed the Air Force forever. It was a small victoryand one that would build. 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. Woolworth. 2023, A&E Television Networks, LLC. "[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. We provide access to these materials to preserve the historical record, but we do not endorse the attitudes, prejudices, or behaviors found within them. The Greensboro Four, as they came to be known, acted to challenge the lunch counters refusal to serve African Americans. Jibreel Khazan (Ezell Blair Jr.), one of the Greensboro Four In 1965, he moved to New Bedford, Massachusetts, where he worked as a teacher and counselor for the developmentally challenged. 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. Ezell Blair Jr. - IMDb The A&T Four: February 1st, 1960 The store manager then approached the men, asking them to leave. Robert Penn Warren Center for the Humanities 2023 |. McCain was one of four N.C. A&T students who led sit-ins at the Woolworth lunch counter in downtown Greensboro in 1960. 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. His life was threatened, so he moved to a mountain community, according to Carolina Theatre. Blair was president of the junior class, the student government association, the campus NAACP and the Greensboro Congress of Racial Equality.

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