The A&T FOUR:
The Significance of February 1, 1960

On February 1, 1960 in Greensboro, North Carolina, four A&T freshmen students, Ezell Blair (Jibreel Khazan) Jr., David Richmond, Franklin McCain and Joseph McNeil walked downtown and “sat - in” at the whites – only lunch counter at Woolworth’s. They refused to leave when denied service and stayed until the store closed.
(Read the bios of the A&T Four)

A chronology of events that occurred as a result of this bold action by these four young men included:
• February 2, 1960 - twenty- five other students from A&T and other Greensboro colleges and universities joined them the next day.
• During the next ten days, students across the state participated in similar sit-ins.
• By the third week of February 1960, demonstrations had spread to at least 250 major cities and towns in the US in which over 400 demonstrations took place by the end of 1960.
• Woolworth’s was desegregated by the end of July 1960

As a result of this movement, significant events in civil right history occurred:

• The passage of the 1960 Civil rights Bill
• The Interstate Commerce Commission ruling in September 1961 against racial segregation on interstate carriers and terminals
• The first National Public Accommodations Act in 100 years (Khazan 2004)

Jibreel Khazan recounts that on Sunday night, January 31, 1960, we decided we were going to request equal service for all Americans at F. W. Woolworth’s lunch counter on Monday, February 1, 1960.

The legacy of these four heroes proves the true potential and appeal of nonviolence. It was their protest that became the model and inspiration for later civil rights, anti-war and women’s liberations movements.
These four young men forever changed the course of history by their bravery and courage.

Information taken from The 47th Sit-In Anniversary Celebration Program

:: Read the bios of the A&T Four :: back to archives