66th Anniversary of Sit-In Examines Social, Generational Impact

EAST GREENSBORO, N.C. (Jan. 30, 2026) – Sixty-six years after four North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University freshmen energized the civil rights movement by sitting in at the downtown Greensboro Woolworth’s lunch counter to receive equal service, the magnitude of their courageous act remains timeless.

The university’s annual Sit-In Anniversary Celebration, held virtually Friday, Jan. 30, because of inclement weather that prevented safe travel, featured a panel discussion focused on the theme, “Rooted in Legacy: Impacting Generations.”

It honored Jibreel Khazan (formerly Ezell Blair Jr.), the late Franklin McCain Sr., the late retired Air Force Maj. Gen. Joseph McNeil and the late David Richmond Jr. and Feb. 1, 1960, the day they began what turned into a six-month peaceful protest that ultimately forced Woolworth to integrate its lunch counters across the country.

Student Government Association President Corey Smith II, who presided over the event, gave a brief history of the sit-in, noting the support of Bennett College and Dudley High School students, and other key milestones that followed in the civil rights movement.

“It’s an annual celebration that we do not take lightly,” he said. “As days, months and years roll by, we’re confronted with time and change. Life takes us in different ways, but there are a few things that will never change. There will always be opportunities for people to show up, stand strong and be the change they wish to see.”

The celebration paused to pay tribute to McNeil, who died Sept. 4 at 83, before February One Scholar Giana Seay introduced discussion moderator Chance D. Lynch ‘06, J.D., and the three panelists: Joyce Hobson Johnson ‘60, Frank McCain Jr. ‘87 and Vashti Hinton Smith ‘19.

Lynch is a 2023 recipient of the university’s Human Rights Medal whose work on high-profile civil rights cases has received national recognition. He led the panelists in discussing how the A&T Four defined the role of college students in social activism during the civil rights era and how their impact endures today.

Johnson said she remembered watching television news coverage of the sit-in as a 13-year-old in Richmond, Virginia, and being motivated immediately to follow their lead in the fight for civil rights, never thinking she would ultimately find herself in Greensboro and come to know the A&T Four. She is not only a retired business professor and nationally-recognized transportation research director who worked at A&T for 27 years, but also a renowned community and civil rights leader who serves as founding Executive-in-Residence of Beloved Community Center in Greensboro.

“So yes, it inspired me then. It continues to fire my soul even today at 79, because the work is not yet finished,” she said. “Part of what encourages me is the young Aggies and others who are coming along who I know will step into place and go even higher.”

A second-year law student at Howard University who spent eight years working with Common Cause, Smith was an inaugural Capitol Hill House HBCU Caucus intern in 2016 and NAACP Youth and College Division first vice president from 2015 to 2017. She said today’s young organizers deserve acknowledgment for taking up the mantle of the A&T Four and carrying on the spirit of their Feb. 1, 1960, sit-in.

“One of the lessons I’ve taken from it is – and I think a lot of people have – is that you have to be willing to lose something, to give up something, to know that doing the right thing is going to cost something,” she said. “We get free by doing the hard things, by asking hard questions, by challenging these systems. … I think that’s a lesson that we can all take from them. They were willing to give it all up, no matter what happened.”

Lynch agreed, saying the mission of the A&T Four remains active. “It may look a little different, you know, it may be shaped a little bit different,” he said. “But the struggle is still there, and so the movement is still alive.”

McCain Jr., son of McCain Sr., spoke on behalf of the children of the A&T Four to express appreciation for the annual celebration. But to truly honor the A&T Four, he said, people should honor them by following their righteous example.

“I think it’s really about our courage in the present,” said McCain, who  serves as president and CEO of the United Way of Greater Greensboro. “Legacy becomes hollow, I think, when it’s only remembered once a year. …

“What injustice today requires the same clarity and boldness, and how are we responding?” he said. “The A&T Four remind us that resistance doesn’t have to be loud, but it must be consistent.”

“We must build community and work together,” said Johnson.

“I want to see a better tomorrow,” said Smith. “I want to do my small part to make it better for everybody else and for my community.”

“How we stand today will determine how we celebrate or suffer tomorrow,” said Lynch.

“From 1960 until today, the A&T Four have impacted every generation,” said Smith II. “We stand on their shoulders and walk in their footsteps. And because of them, we know that deliberate action is not only important, but it is necessary to bring about change.”