On this day: It's been 64 years since four Black students sat at 'all-white' Woolworth's lunch counter in Greensboro

Feb. 1, 2024, marked 64 years since four Black college students sat at an all-white lunch counter at Woolworth's in Greensboro.

Their protest for civil and human rights eventually prompted Woolworth's, a chain, to change its policy nationally, promising equal access at its lunch counters. The actions of the four men also sparked a ripple effect of other sit-ins at restaurants across the South.

On Feb. 1, 1960, North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University freshmen Jibreel Khazan (formerly Ezell Blair Jr.), Joseph McNeil, Franklin McCain Sr. and David Richmond sat down at the counter and waited to be served.

On Wednesday, NC A&T honored Khazan and McNeil, the surviving two students.

According to NC A&T, the Feb. 1, 1960, sit-in "prompted others to conduct similar peaceful protests against racial injustice in at least 250 municipalities across the country by the end of that month."

Today, a monument the International Civil Rights Center and Museum stands at 134 S. Elm St., where the historic Woolworth's sat for decades. Inside the museum are the same swivel chairs and iconic Woolworth's countertop, which have been unaltered.

While at NC A&T, the four studied the 14th Amendment – the one that guaranteed citizens “equal protection under the laws." And yet, these men, along with all other African-Americans, were forced to order their food from the snack bar and eat outside.

"They were ignored," said John Swaine, CEO of the museum, at a 63nd anniversary event in 2022. "They sat down at the counter here, two on the corner, two on the opposite side, and requested service. And they were just ignored until the store closed."

The four students returned the next day, and the next, and the next. Soon students from the all-female Bennett College joined in, along with high school students.

Some sit-ins in other states were met with violence, but in Greensboro, they remained peaceful.

"It took extraordinary courage for these students to come here," said Swaine. "They always knew they had to stay on the east side of town, but they took a chance."

He believes it was their study of the United States constitution that made them want to bring about this powerful change.

The survivors are now in their 80s. One lives in Charlotte, the other in Connecticut.

“It was never about the breakfast (at Woolworth’s)," said Marcus Bass, who was student government president at NC A&T in 2009 and serves as the executive director of Advance North Carolina. "It was about the opportunity – and it was never about eating where white people ate. It was about the ability to do what any and all of us in here want to do: live and exist freely in this country, anywhere in any building, especially public venues."

“When we think about the equality, the access, there are still areas where we cannot go. There are still institutions that won’t accept our brilliance.”