Commemorating the 50th Anniversary of the Woolworth Lunch Counter Student Sit-In

The three surviving members of the Greensboro Four, Jibreel Khazan (formerly Ezell Blair, Jr.), Franklin McCain, and Joseph McNeil participated in an oral history about their bold action that ignited student involvement in the Civil Rights Movement when they staged a sit-in at the Woolworth lunch counter in Greensboro, North Carolina on February 1, 1960. The four men were only freshmen at North Carolina A&T University when they began the movement that would lead to the desegregation of that particular lunch counter and sparked a student movement that spread across the nation. This was an opportunity for students around the same age as the Greensboro Four at the time of their protest to learn about student activism and civic engagement first-hand. This special youth town hall featured an oral history conducted by Christopher W. Wilson, Director of the Program in African American Culture at the National Museum of American History, along with a question and answer session. It also included excerpts from the Museums Historic Theatre programs Sing for Freedom and the award-winning Join the Student Sit Ins. Xavier Carnegie, a talented young actor from the Museums historic theatre company who presents Join the Student Sit-Ins for the public, acted as the shows host.

Category:

Entertainment

Tags:

• Greensboro Four
• Smithsonian
• Civil Rights
• Nonviolence
• Sit Ins
• Woolworth
• Greensboro
• NC
• Protest
• African American