FEBRUARY ONE

The Greensboro Four

Jibreel Khazan
(Fomerly Ezell Blair Jr.)
Jibreel Khazan is one of the original four who took part in the Woolworth sit-ins. Born Ezell Blair Jr., in Greensboro NC, he graduated from Dudley High School, where his father was a teacher, and received a B.S. in sociology from North Carolina A&T State University in 1963. While a student at A&T, Khazan was president of the junior class, the student government association, the campus NAACP and the Greensboro Congress for Racial Equality. He attended law school at Howard University for almost a year. After finding it nearly impossible to find a job in Greensboro because of his reputation as being one of those four troublemakers, he moved to New Bedford, MA in 1965. New Bedford has a special place in his heart because it was where Frederick Douglas escaped to freedom, and indeed while the video crew was in New Bedford we went to see the Frederick Douglas House. In 1968, he became a member of the New England Islamic Center and took on his present name.

Khazan works with developmentally disabled people for the CETA program in New Bedford, Mass. He also has worked with the AFL/CIO Trade Council in Boston and the Opportunities Industrialization Center and at the Rodman Job Corps Center. He is married to the former Lorraine France George of New Bedford. They have three children, one of whom graduated from A&T.

Franklin McCain
Franklin McCain is one of the original four who took part in the Woolworth sit-ins. He was born in Union County, and reared in Washington, D.C. During his Junior year in High School, his family moved to Greensboro and he attended Dudley High School. However, his family moved back to DC and he graduated from Eastern High School in Washington. He received a B.S. degree in chemistry and biology from North Carolina A&T State University in 1964. While he was an A&T student, he roomed with David Richmond — another of the original sit-in participants — and around the corner from Ezell Blair Jr. and Joseph McNeil on the second floor of Scott Hall. McCain grew up deeply influenced by Jesus Christ and his grandmother. Franklin talked to us many times about how his grandparents and parents would tell him "The Big Lie." "The Big Lie" went something like this… if he behaved in a respectful and modest way, and kept up his grades, that all opportunities would be open to him. As he grew older, he realized that the color of his skin, kept a lot of opportunities from him, even one as simple as sitting down with other folks at a lunch counter. The way the world was structured made him very angry and he knew that if he didn't do something about it, he would not be able to live with himself.

After he graduated from A&T in 1963, he stayed in Greensboro, and went to Grad School. In 1964 he married the former Bettye Davis. They have three sons. In 1965 he joined the Celanese Corporation in Charlotte as a chemist and is now retired. As a resident of Charlotte, Franklin has been on many boards and has worked to bring about some changes in the educational, civic, spiritual and political life of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg area.

Joseph McNeil
One of the original four taking part in the Woolworth sit-ins. A Wilmington native, he graduated from Williston Senior High School. Soon after high school, his parents moved the family to New York, where he was able to experience a much more open society. Joe came to NC A&T on full scholarship, and found it hard to live in the segregated South. His roommate at Scott Hall on the A&T campus was another sit-in participant, Ezell Blair Jr. Joe's breaking point came after Christmas vacation, when he returned by bus from New York, and was not served a hot dog at the Greensboro Greyhound terminal. McNeil earned a degree in engineering physics from North Carolina A&T State University in 1963. Thirty minutes after graduating, Joe McNeil was commissioned by the U. S. Air Force and spent six years as an officer and attained the rank of captain. He recently retired from Air Force Reserves, having achieved the rank of Major General. During his tenure in the Air Force, he started a series of diversity programs, which profoundly changed the culture of that institution. He worked in computer sales for IBM, as a commercial banker for Bankers Trust in New York City, and as a stock broker for E.F. Hutton in Fayetteville. He now resides in Hempstead, N.Y. He is married to the former Ina Brown, and they have five children.

David Richmond
One of the original four, taking part in the Woolworth sit-ins. He was born in Greensboro and graduated from Dudley High School, where he was one of the most popular students. During high school, he belonged to many clubs, and played many sports. He was on the track team, and in 1959 set the state high jump record. At A&T, he majored in business administration and accounting. After leaving A&T, he became a counselor-coordinator for the CETA program in Greensboro. Forced to leave Greensboro because his life was threatened, he lived in the mountain community of Franklin for nine years.

When his elderly parents became ill, he returned to Greensboro to take care of them. David is the only one of the four that returned to live in Greensboro, and he had a very hard time finding a job as he had to fight against the stigma of being a troublemaker. Finally he was able to find work as a janitor for the Greensboro Health Care Center. In 1980, the Greensboro Chamber of Commerce awarded him the Levi Coffin Award for "leadership in human rights, human relations, and human resources development in Greensboro."

He was married and divorced twice and has three children. His son, Chip Richmond, was a starter on the football team at Wake Forest University.
David battled many demons as he grew older, including alcoholism, and a sadness that he could not do more to improve the world he lived in. Richmond died in Greensboro on Dec. 7, 1990. He was 49 years old. A&T awarded him a posthumous honorary doctorate degree.

February One

The Greensboro Four