02/01/2021
It’s only right that we kick off the beginning of Black History Month with the Greensboro Four... ✊🏾
60 years ago today.....
The Greensboro Four were four black men who staged the first civil rights protest sit-in, in Greensboro, North Carolina. On February 1, 1960, Ezell Blair Jr., David Richmond, Franklin McCain and Joseph McNeil, all four students of North Carolina Agricultural and Technical College, refused to leave from the lunch counter at Woolworth’s where their official policy was to refuse service to anyone but whites. Denied service, the four young men refused to give up their seats. Police arrived on the scene, but were unable to take action due to the ack of provocation(action or speech that makes someone angry or annoyed). The local media had already been notified and was there in full force to cover the event. The Greensboro Four stayed put until the store closed, then returned the next day with more students from local colleges. By February 5, 300 students had joined the protest at Woolworth’s. .
In response to the success of the sit-in movement, dining facilities across the South were being integrated by the summer of 1960. At the end of July, when many local college students were on summer vacation, the Greensboro Woolworth’s quietly integrated its lunch counter. Four black Woolworth’s employees were the first to be served.
Thank you Greensboro Four!
Drop a 💙💛 for AGGIE PRIDE!