It is now February and in honor of Black History Month I thought I’d post on a local event that had a huge impact on civil rights in North Carolina and eventually influenced the direction of the civil rights struggle nationwide. They would come to be known as The Greensboro Four.Most people are aware of the marches in the South involving Dr King and other well known civil rights leaders of the day, but few outside of North Carolina are aware of the courage and determination of a few local college students to bring equal rights and dignity to the black community.
On Feb 1, 1960, these four young men, Franklin McCain, Joseph McNeil, Ezell Blair Jr (now known as Jibreel Khazan) and David Richmond (now deceased), all students at North Carolina A&T aka Aggies, walked into a segregated Woolworths and sat down at the lunch counter and thereby sparked a movement that would spread across the nation as others quietly sat down in nonviolent protest against the inequality of “colored” and “white” public designations.They were scared but determined and eventually admired by many from both sides of the color line. Soon a local high school class joined them to help fill all the seats at the counter, every day. As one high school student recalled, their teacher made them bring their books with them as they were still responsible for doing their homework.
In late July, 1960 they finally won the right to be served as the manager relented and opened the counter to African-Americans. It would be great if I could now tell you “and then all the citizens of North Carolina realized how unfair and unconstitutional the laws and practices of the day were and so abolished them.”
But change comes slowly and on Nov 3, 1979 there came a clash on Greensboro streets between the KKK and a communist party rally that would end in five deaths. At the time, there were no convictions but many unanswered questions remained.
The struggle has been long and sometimes violent but this week on Feb 1, 2010, 50 years to the day that the Greensboro Four walked into that Woolworths, the International Civil Rights Center & Museum opened on that very site.
Fifteen years in the making, there were times when it looked like the project was dead, only to be revived once again. Many hands, hearts and wallets contributed to the reality of this museum. Because of the surprise snow storm that hit the area before the grand opening on Monday, city crews worked through the weekend to clear all snow from the street and sidewalks.On Monday, the three surviving students cut the ribbon and took their rightful place in American history.
I remember it well. I was 12 at the time and thought it terrible that negroes (as African Americans were known at that time) were not allowed to eat in the same restaurants as whites.
ReplyDeleteThanks for reminding us, rockync. Glad to hear the story again and be reminded of the people who struggled for so long.
ReplyDeleteThank you for that, Rocky. I was listening to people's recollections of the events yesterday on the radio -- and marveled. At the time, the four young men had no idea that their protest would lead to such a massive movement.
ReplyDeleteThat's how THE CHANGE is done. It comes from the bottom, never (or rarely) from the top. It starts with one person -- or a few people -- doing the right thing.
An admission, I was not aware of the Greensboro Four until this post. My last year of grade school (and my last year of innocence) was 1960, and I did not become fully engaged in the civil rights movement until the March on Washington (which I attended by hitching a ride friends without parental permission). During my last year in H.S. and throughout my college years, I was a civil rights activist and war protester.
ReplyDeleteI am glad you are writing this series because it not only fills gaps in my historical memory but also serves as a reminder about some of those unrecognized or forgotten heroes.
Great post. For every step forward, we take half a step back, but civil rights for Americans of color have improved in my lifetime. The struggle, however, continues. Postings such as this one give all of us inspiration to not give up.
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ReplyDeleteJust a quick reminder: Today is Rosa Parks' birthday. Best known as the woman who refused to give up her seat on a Montgomery Alabama bus in 1955, she would have been 97 years old today.
ReplyDeleteHey Octo! Great post here. I am a history buff and I love it when I learn. Thanks for stopping by my place. I see at least one familiar face. I have two sites, the one you visited and the new one at madmikesamerica.com I hope you visit often and I will be adding you to my BR.
ReplyDeleteInteresting writeup of a turbulent chapter in America's history. Change is taking place; it's just awfully slow. Two steps forward, one step back.
ReplyDeleteTook hella courage, not just physical but mental as well. The hate and abuse they would have endured is almost unimaginable.
ReplyDeleteGreat post. I knew of some sort of lunch counter civil rights incident, but I didn't know the details until now.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad I could spark some old memories and also give a few some new information.
ReplyDeleteSome folks don't think we should have a black history month but given how we continue to ignore what has been given us by these fellow citizens, I think we should support the designated month as a means of correcting the American history books which are severely lacking.