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Marchers Honor Historic Woolworth Sit-In Protesters

By Kitara Garner and Alexandra Gray
Black College Wire

Sharonda Eggleton From left, Dr. Jibreel Khazan, Dr. Joseph McNeil, Dr. Franklin McCain and David Richmond Jr., son of the late Dr. David Richmond.

North Carolina A&T University commemorated the historic 1960 sit-in by four A&T freshmen at the Woolworth counter in downtown Greensboro with a march and a breakfast attended by the three living members of the "A&T Four" and the son of the fourth.

It was the students� action that first put the civil rights movement�s strategy of sitting in at segregated public facilities on public view on Feb. 1, 1960.

Although civil rights activists had tried sit-ins before, the action by the four touched a chord among other students at black college students across the South, and soon thousands were sitting in at lunch counters in Charlotte, Raleigh, Durham and Winston-Salem, N.C.; Norfolk, Va., and Nashville, Tenn.

At the A&T breakfast, Dr. Jibreel Khazan (formerly Ezell Blair), began his address by singing, "the song has ended but the memory lingers on."

Dr. Joseph McNeil, a second sit-in participant, mentioned an article that said the civil rights movement was dead and that hip hop had taken its place. The civil rights movement would always be around, McNeil said. "You need to engage affirmatively."

David Richmond Jr., son of Dr. David Richmond, who died in 1990, told the crowd that the four were a representation of past leaders and that students of today were the future.

Dr. Franklin McCain, the last of the four to speak, urged the crowd to ask themselves, "Who am I? Where am I going? What am I going to do when I get there?"

He said he could not tell those listening where they were going, but he did know of a way to get there. Since we live under a representative government, we must be involved or get what people say we deserve, said McCain.

"In great measure we are there now but, what are we going to do now?" McCain asked.

Chancellor James Renick said he was pleased that so many students were present at such an early hour of the morning.

The turnout reminded him of a quote by Martin Luther King Jr., "The time is always right to do what is right."

Junior Donyale Wethersby added, "I think this shows that our generation hasn't forgotten what those before us have done.

The march the next day, Feb. 1, began with a cloudy morning, but as participants lined up, the clouds disappeared and the sun started to shine as if Richmond himself were looking down on the crowd.

About 50 to 60 people lined up at 10 a.m., ready to walk. Greensboro police department blocked off streets so that the march would run smoothly. Marchers chanted and sang songs in tribute to the A&T Four. The crowd eventually grew to 450, the Greensboro News & Record said.

The original plans involved a tour of the Sit-In Movement museum, which is under construction, but they were scrapped at the urging of the museum because of the construction. "They waited until Friday to tell us that we would not be able to take the tour of the museum," said Bettie Ray, assistant secretary for the Council of Presidents. I was upset when I heard that. . . . They told us that it was an insurance issue."

The university's Council of Presidents planned the march for Feb.1 so that the museum would be open to those who participated. They wanted the students to have a "sneak peak."

In place of the tour, a rally was held where marchers could express their feelings about the event. A homeless man even led the crowd in singing "We Shall Overcome."

Organizations from A&T and from Bennett College came to lend support. Representatives from the Student Government Association, Pan-Hellenic Greeks and hometown Aggie clubs all joined in the march. Local media outlets covered the event.

Christopher Thomas-Moore, president of the Council of Presidents said, "Everyone left the march touched, feeling the magnitude of the space that we were in." The march was established this year so that the legacy can continue, he said.

Kitara Garner and Alexandra Gray are students at North Carolina A&T University who write for the A&T Register.