the Greensboro Four

Photo (c) 2007 by the Incorrigible Curmudgeon

I drove down to North Carolina over the weekend to visit some very dear friends, one of whom is a wildlife biologist at North Carolina A&T University.

During my tour of the A&T campus, I was introduced to this magnificent statuary tribute entitled "February One," in tribute to the "Greensboro Four" who were the four civil rights activist described in the carving on the base of the statue:

"These four A&T Freshmen envisioned and carried out the lunch counter sit-in of February 1, 1960 in downtown Greensboro. Their courageous act against social injustice inspired similar progress across the nation and is remembered as a defining moment in the struggle for civil rights."

Left to right they are: David Richmond, Franklin McCain, Ezell Blair, Jr. (Jibreel Khazan), and Joseph McNeil.

The statue was carved by James Barnhill out of 6,000 lbs. of clay and cast in bronze. It was dedicated on February 1, 2001 on the 42nd anniversary of the sit-in. Of the four, three remain with us today. The one deceased member is David Richmond who died in 1990 at the age of 49. The lunch counter where they sat-in was secured by the Smithsonian Institution's Museum of American History.