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The protests and the subsequent events were major milestones in the Civil Rights Movement. Updated: January 29, 2021 | Original: July 28, 2020. 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 The store manager then approached the men, asking them to leave. The university. Did you know? Woolworth's whites-only lunch counter in Greensboro to protest segregation. At that speech, King called for an escalation of nonviolent protests to end segregated accommodation. The sit-in protest continued for several days and soon spread throughout the South, sparking a new phase of the Civil Rights Movement. 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. 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. Woolworth's store. 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. But they did not move. 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. 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. 20072023 Blackpast.org. All Rights Reserved. He then went into computer sales and worked as a stockbroker and commercial banker. Today In HistoryRobert C. Maynard bought the Oakland Tribune on this date April 30, 1983. 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. WATCH: The Civil Rights Movement on HISTORY Vault. It was said that when he experienced unjust treatment based on color, he "stood up." 0. Digital archive created and designed by the Robert Penn Warren Center for the Humanities at Vanderbilt University. 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. 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. Lunch counter sit-ins then moved beyond Greensboro to North Carolina cities such as Charlotte, Durham and Winston-Salem. They told him to do what he must and to carry himself with dignity and grace. 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. These materials may be graphic or reflect biases. In 1991, Khazan received an honorary doctorate of humanities degree from North Carolina A&T State University. Khazans courageous actions helped to bring attention to the injustices of segregation and inspired others to join the fight for civil rights. In 1963, Khazan graduated from A&T College with a Bachelor's degree in sociology and Social Studies. 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 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. In addition, the four men each have residence halls named for them on the university campus. McCain's death left Ezell Blair (now Jibreel Khazan) and Joseph McNeil as the two surviving members of the Greensboro Four. 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. 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. In 1958, Khazan heard King speak at the local Bennett College. Notes about review of interview transcripts with Carmichael, Ezell Blair, Lucy Thornton, and Jean Wheeler. McCain was one of four N.C. A&T students who led sit-ins at the Woolworth lunch counter in downtown Greensboro in 1960. He later moved to New Bedford, Massachusetts, where he changed his name to Jibreel Khazan. in sociology in 1963. Updated: January 25, 2022 | Original: February 4, 2010. Blair was president of the junior class, the student government association, the campus NAACP and the Greensboro Congress of Racial Equality. 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. 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. 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. In response to the success of the sit-in movement, dining facilities across the South were being integrated by the summer of 1960. Activist Ella Baker, then director of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, organized the youth-centered groups first meeting. Robert C. Maynard, the first African American editor and owner of a major daily newspaper in the United States, was known as a trailblazing journalist who led efforts to desegregate newsrooms and educ Duke Ellington, byname of Edward Kennedy Ellington, (born April 29, 1899, Washington, D.C., U.S.died May 24, 1974, New York, N.Y.), American pianist who was the greatest jazz composer and bandleade Frances role in the Trans Atlantic Slave, African Chiefs role in the Trans Atlantic, sit-in protest at Woolworths lunch counter, Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), Neighborhood children greet Ms. Gibson upon her return to Harlem after winning Wimbledon in 1957. 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. 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. He was a Major General in the Air Force Reserves and started diversity initiatives that changed the Air Force forever. Get the latest news, sports and weather delivered straight to your inbox. Khazan was born Ezell Alexander Blair Jr. on October 18, 1941, in Greensboro, North Carolina. 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. From left to right: Jibreel Khazan (formerly Ezell Blair, Jr.), Franklin McCain, Joseph McNeill, and David Richmond. The sit-in movement soon spread to college towns throughout the South. What sparked the Greensboro Four, as the students were known, to take such courageous action? Forego a bottle of soda and donate its cost to us for the information you just learned, and feel good about helping to make it available to everyone. [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. Then, the next day, they returned to do it all over again, according to CNN. By Birth Year | By Birth Month | By Death Year | By Death Month | Random, Contact Us | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Copyright. A Greensboro native, he graduated from Dudley High School and received a . Jibreel Khazan (now Ezell Blair Jr.) was one of the original four who took part in the Woolworth sit-ins. She is the author of Toni Morrison's Spiritual Vision and other books. Ezell Blair, Jr. (later Jibreel Khazan), Franklin McCain, Joseph McNeil, and David Richmond organized the sit-in. They were influenced by the nonviolent protest techniques of Mahatma Gandhi. After the Greensboro sit-ins, Blair became a prominent civil rights activist and organizer. 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. See MoreSee Less, Today In HistoryEdward Kennedy Duke Ellington, the legendary composer and bandleader, was born in Washington, DC, on April 29, 1899. SNCC was pivotal in pushing the Rev. The students had received guidance from mentor activists and collaborated with students from Greensboro's all-women's Bennett College. As he had been labeled a "troublemaker" for his role in the Greensboro Sit-Ins, life in Greensboro became difficult for Khazan. He attended law school at Howard University for almost a year before a variety of maladies forced him out. 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. They were refused service and sat peacefully until the store closed. He had been a high school track star and was born in Greensboro. 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). One of the original Greensboro Four who took part in the Woolworth sit-ins. It was a small victoryand one that would build. All Rights Reserved. He was 49 years old when he died in 1990 and received a posthumous honorary doctorate degree from At&T State University. Ezell Blair is a member of famous Activist list. 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. 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. 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. [5] His 1964 interview describes the Greensboro sit-ins in Chapter 5 of Who Speaks for the Negro? 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 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. Original materials provided by the University of Kentucky and Yale University libraries and digitized with the permission of the Warren estate. They also took inspiration from civil rights causes of years earlier, including the 1955 lynching of Emmett Till and the Montgomery bus boycott. He was a student government leader. He continued his education at Massachusetts University and later at the New England Conservatory of Music, where he studied voice. Biographies of the A&T Four Jibreel Khazan Jibreel Khazan (Ezell Blair, Jr.) was born in Greensboro, North Carolina on October 18, 1941. See MoreSee Less, Neighborhood children greet Ms. Gibson upon her return to Harlem after winning Wimbledon in 1957 They were students at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical College. [6], The sit-in demonstrations were just the beginning of Khazan's community involvement. Menu. 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. His breaking point was when he was not served a hot dog at the Greensboro bus terminal, according to Carolina Theatre. 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. The protests played a definitive role in the Civil Rights movement because they sparked additional protests, eventually making the movement too large to ignore, Google says. 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.. Report Video . This page was last modified on 24 April 2023, at 04:46. We provide access to these materials to preserve the historical record, but we do not endorse the attitudes, prejudices, or behaviors found within them. [9] In 2010, Khazan was the recipient of the James Smithson Bicentennial Medal from the Smithsonian Institution. Hudgens had participated in the 1947 Journey of Reconciliation against racial segregation on interstate buses. Jan 27, 2020. As of 2018 Ezell Blair is 76 years years old. [10] On October 12, 2021, Khazan was honored with the renaming of a city park in the west end of New Bedford, MA. 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. His name is now Jibreel Khazan. 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. David Richmond, the fourth member and McCain's freshman college roommate, died in 1990. 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., He was also influenced by Martin Luther King Jr. Khazan stated that he had seen a documentary on Mohandas Gandhi's use of "passive insistence" that had inspired him to act. Some content (or its descriptions) found on this site may be harmful and difficult to view. All four were students from North. The sit-in demonstrations were just the beginning of Khazan's community involvement. 2023, A&E Television Networks, LLC. 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. But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us! But the acts of intimidation didnt stop the movement from building. [4] Shortly before his death, McCain was interviewed by his granddaughter, Taylor, who asked him to define freedom. In 1959, Khazan graduated from James B. Dudley High School, and entered the A&T College of North Carolina. 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. 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), North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, 1942 sit-in at the Jack Spratt Coffee House, Follow the Freedom Riders' Journey Against Segregation, Woman's College of the University of North Carolina, 1,400 students showed up to the Greensboro Woolworth, Police arrested 41 students for trespassing, Greensboro Woolworth lunch counter was finally integrated, integrating the cafeteria at Richs Department Store, 8 Steps That Paved the Way to the Civil Rights Act of 1964, https://www.history.com/news/greensboro-four-sit-in-civil-rights, How the Greensboro Four Sit-In Sparked a Movement. By the end of March 1960, the movement had spread to 55 cities in 13 states. 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. Click here to sign up for email and text alerts. Today Khazan is an oral historian, oracle, Mass-Star Story teller and lecturer. Denied service, the four young men refused to give up their seats. Together they have three children. Police arrested 41 students for trespassing at a Raleigh Woolworth. The students came to be called the Greensboro Four. Ezell Blair Jr. was the son of a teacher who received his B.S. The Greensboro sit-in is the subject of a Google Doodle on February 1, 2020 for the 60th anniversary of the action. Sit-in demonstrations by Black college students grew at the Woolworth's in Greensboro and other local stores, February 6, 1960. One member of the Greensboro Four, Joseph McNeil, resolved to integrate lunch counters after a 1959 trip to New York, a city where he hadnt encountered Jim Crow laws. We even had people who saw the sit-ins that were taking place at the lunch counter drive from other states to come down here, Swaine says. 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. 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. 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 At the time of the protest, he was a student at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, where he was studying engineering. He had to move to Massachusetts because the publicity made it difficult to get a job in Greensboro. They waited. Woolworth. He was a student government leader. They were taking place in a lot of places before Greensboro., READ MORE: Follow the Freedom Riders' Journey Against Segregation. 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. The Greensboro sit-in was a major moment in the Civil Rights Movement. When four Black students refused to move from a segregated Woolworth's lunch counter in 1960, nation-wide student activism gained momentum. Its success led to a wider sit-in movement, organized primarily by the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), that spread throughout the South. The sit-ins not only attracted new protesters, they also drew counter-protesters who showed up to harass, insult and assault them. 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. It's honored with a Google Doodle. He was captivated as King addressed the audience in attendance. 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. Blair was president of the junior class, the student government association, the campus NAACP and the Greensboro Congress of Racial Equality. Greensboro Sit-In: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know, Copyright 2023 Heavy, Inc. All rights reserved. Nadra Nittle is a veteran journalist who is currently the education reporter for The 19th. A small donation would help us keep this available to all. READ MORE: Civil Rights Movement: A Timeline. 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. 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. [5] Khazan stated that he had seen a documentary on Mohandas Gandhi's use of "passive insistence" that had inspired him to act. Ezell Blair begins this interview by describing his participation in the Greensboro student sit-in and describes the students Ezell Blair, Stokely Carmichael, Lucy Thornton and Jean Wheeler. The Greensboro sit-in. On February 1, 1960, Blair, along with McNeil, Franklin and Richmond, took the bold step of violating the Greensboro Woolworth's segregation policy. After nearly a week of protests, approximately 1,400 students showed up to the Greensboro Woolworth to demonstrate. Release Calendar Top 250 Movies Most Popular Movies Browse Movies by Genre Top Box Office Showtimes & Tickets Movie News India Movie Spotlight. He worked as a janitor and battled many demons, sad that he couldnt improve the world more than he had. At that speech, King called for an escalation of nonviolent protests to end segregated accommodation. Not only were lunch counters across the country integrated one by one, a student movement was galvanized. 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. He continued his education at Massachusetts University and later at the New England Conservatory of Music, where he studied voice.[7]. At the time of the protest, he was a student at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, where he was studying engineering. HISTORY.com works with a wide range of writers and editors to create accurate and informative content. Khazan received his early education from Dudley High School, where his father taught. Jibreel Khazan (previously Ezell Blair, Jr). Download it here. Movies. They also worked with the NAACP to get the 1964 Civil Rights Act passed. Ezell Blair Jr.. Self: February One: The Story of the Greensboro Four. They also did not give up their seats when a police officer arrived and menacingly slapped his nightstick against his hand directly behind them. They were all students at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University in Greensboro. Ezell Blair Jr. 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 . 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. 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. Police arrived on the scene but were unable to take action due to the lack of provocation. [1][2], Khazan was born Ezell Alexander Blair Jr. on October 18, 1941, in Greensboro, North Carolina. 2023, A&E Television Networks, LLC. He served on university boards and received an honorary doctorate, according to the Civil Rights Digital Library. ", 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. In 1965, he moved to New Bedford, Massachusetts, where he worked as a teacher and counselor for the developmentally challenged. 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. Ezell A. Blair, Jr. (1941- ), referred to as Izell Blair inWho Speaks for the Negro?, is an American civil rights activist. He married the former Lorraine France George of New Bedford. Khazan received his early education from Dudley High School, where his father taught. He had to move to Massachusetts because the publicity made it. He later moved to New Bedford, Massachusetts, where he changed his name to Jibreel Khazan. Robert Penn Warren Center for the Humanities 2023 |. Recommended Citation. The sit-ins establish a crucial kind of leadership and organizing of young people, says Jeanne Theoharis, a Brooklyn College political science professor. Powered by. 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. 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. July 1, 2020. [3][8] Today Khazan is an oral historian, oracle, Mass-Star Story teller and lecturer. 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. A Greensboro native, born in the city on October 18, 1941, Blair graduated from Dudley High School in Greensboro, North Carolina. Some of the first sit-ins during the civil rights movementwere organized by history teacher Clara Luper and the NAACP Youth Council in Oklahoma City in1958. [3] In 1963, Khazan graduated from A&T College with a Bachelor's degree in sociology and Social Studies. See MoreSee Less. By February 5, some 300 students had joined the protest at Woolworths, paralyzing the lunch counter and other local businesses. Joseph McNeil earned a degree in engineering physics in 1963 and joined the U.S. Air Force, where he became a captain. Copyright: Jack Moebes/Corbis. [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. Touring history with Avett Brothers' bassist Bob Crawford. Their names were Ezell Blair Jr., David Richmond, Franklin McCain and Joseph McNeil. It took months, but on July 25, 1960, the Greensboro Woolworth lunch. From left to right: Jibreel Khazan (formerly Ezell Blair, Jr.), Franklin McCain, Joseph McNeill, and David Richmond. The Greensboro Four wanted their protest to get recognition, so before heading to Woolworths on February 1, they arranged for Ralph Johns, a white businessman and activist, to alert the press about their plans. Her writing has appeared in The Guardian, NBC News, The Atlantic, Business Insider and other outlets. The white waiter refused and suggested they order a take-out meal from the "stand-up" counter. In some cases, they may conflict with strongly held cultural values, beliefs or restrictions. He was captivated as King addressed the audience in attendance.