Ezell Blair Jr.: Difference between revisions
GoingBatty (talk | contribs) m Added Persondata and general fixes using AWB (7522) |
No edit summary |
||
| Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
'''Ezell A. Blair, Jr.''', is an [[African American]] [[civil rights]] [[activism|activist]] who was one of the [[Greensboro Four]]. On February 1, 1960, they sat down at a segregated lunch counter in the [[Greensboro, North Carolina]], Woolworth's store, challenging the store's policy on [[Racial segregation|segregation]]. This event was a major milestone in the [[African-American Civil Rights Movement]].<ref name=davis>{{cite book |
'''Ezell A. Blair, Jr.''', is an [[African American]] [[civil rights]] [[activism|activist]] who was one of the [[Greensboro Four]].<ref>[http://library.uncg.edu/dp/crg/personBio.aspx?c=66 Civil Rights Greensboro: Jibreel Khazan]</ref> On February 1, 1960, they sat down at a segregated lunch counter in the [[Greensboro, North Carolina]], Woolworth's store, challenging the store's policy on [[Racial segregation|segregation]]. This event was a major milestone in the [[African-American Civil Rights Movement]].<ref name=davis>{{cite book |
||
|last=Davis |
|last=Davis |
||
|first=Townsend |
|first=Townsend |
||
Revision as of 18:28, 17 August 2011
Ezell A. Blair, Jr., is an African American civil rights activist who was one of the Greensboro Four.[1] On February 1, 1960, they sat down at a segregated lunch counter in the Greensboro, North Carolina, Woolworth's store, challenging the store's policy on segregation. This event was a major milestone in the African-American Civil Rights Movement.[2]
Background and education
Blair's father, Ezell A. Blair, Sr., was a very vocal man on the subject of racial injustice. When his father experienced unjust treatment based on color, he "stood up." This had a big impact on Blair growing up.[3]
Blair graduated from Dudley High School, where his father taught, and was awarded a B.S. in sociology from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University in 1963. While an undergraduate, he was elected president of his class in his Junior year, was president of the student government association, the campus NAACP and the Greensboro Congress for Racial Equality.[4]
Civil rights involvement before the sit-in
In 1958, Blair traveled to Bennett College while still in high school to hear Martin Luther King, Jr., speak. He was "captivated" as King addressed the audience. At that speech, King called for an escalation of non-violent protests to end segregated accommodation. King remarked that, as a youngster in Atlanta, he "never took a seat on the back of the busses. ... I was only there physically, but my mind was up front."[5] King's words had a powerful impact on Blair, "so strong that I could feel my heart palpitating. It brought tears to my eyes."[3]
Sit-in
On February 1, 1960, Blair was a freshman student at North Carolina Agricultural & Technical College, an all black college when he, along with classmates David Richmond, Joseph McNeil, and Franklin McCain, took the bold step of violating the Greensboro Woolworth's segregation policy.[3]
Blair stated that he had seen a documentary on Gandhi's use of "passive insistence" that had inspired him to act. Each of the participants in the sit had different catalysts, but it is clear that the four men had a close friendship that mutually reinforced their desire to act.[3]
Later life
Blair moved to New Bedford, Massachusetts, in 1965 after finding life difficult in Greensboro, having been labeled a "troublemaker." In 1968, he joined the Islamic Center of New England and changed his name to Jibreel Khazan.[4][6]
Today, Khazan works with the developmentally challenged in New Bedford where he lives with his wife Lorraine.[4][6]
References
- ^ Civil Rights Greensboro: Jibreel Khazan
- ^ Davis, Townsend (1998). Weary Feet, Rested Souls: A Guided History of the Civil Rights Movement. New York: W. W. Norton & Company. p. 311. ISBN 0393045927.
{{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ a b c d Chafe, William Henry (1980). Civilities and civil rights : Greensboro, North Carolina, and the Black struggle for freedom. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 81. ISBN 019502625X.
{{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ a b c "Jibreel Khazan (Formerly Ezell Blair Jr.)". The Greensboro Four. Video Dialog Inc. Retrieved 2008-01-21.
- ^ King, Martin Luther, Jr. (1992). The Papers of Martin Luther King, Jr. Vol IV, Symbol of the Movement. Berkeley: University of California Press. p. 38. ISBN 0520079507.
{{cite book}}: Unknown parameter|coauthors=ignored (|author=suggested) (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ a b "FebruaryOne: The Story of the Greensboro Four". Independent Lens. Public Broadcasting System. 2008. Retrieved 2008-01-21.
