This statue is on the Campus of North Carolina State A&T. This is a statue of four young men who started a protest, using a strategy known as sit-ins. This was a strategy used in the south and goes back to 1939 when Attorney Wilbert Tucker began protests in Alexandria, Virginia. These young men (The Greensboro four-Joseph McNeil, Franklin McCain, Ezell Blair, and David Richmond), were freshman students on this campus. Their sit-in on February 1, 1960 was the beginning of what we call the Civil Rights Movement. They sat at the counter of a diner of F.W. Woolworth department store ordering coffee and respecting store policy. Later students from North Carolina State A&T, sat there in shifts. Woolworth's Department Store realized a drop in sales due to the sit-ins. On July 25, 1960 the owner served the African-American employees at the lunch counter. The next day the entire Woolworth's chain was desegregated. Sit-ins eventually became a popular protest strategy used through out the South.
This movement spread to other cities such as Nashville Tennesee. You know....... in the 60's there was a young Tennessee State University college student who participated in a sit-in in Nasville, Tennessee. He sat there and witnessed abusing to the other protesters. He saw a lady take a lit cigarette and burn it to the face of a white young lady who was participating in the protest. The abusers stated that since she was a protesting for these people she needed to look like them. The abusers started spiting on the protesters. The young college student witnessing this began to get afraid. The abusers went to the college student and was about to spit on him. Just as they were about to spit on him, he got up and stated that he was no longer non-violent. He got up and went home. He said " crying all the way home in shame."
This young man committed to never back down from a challenge of civil rights. He graduated from TSU in engineering and moved to Vallejo. Remebering his promise he started a boys club particularly for students of color. That club was started in 1966and now on this tour looking at this statue. Thank you Philmore Graham.
There are just some things in life that stick with you. I was so impressed with these 4 young men. I too learned a great deal being on this trip. Your children are so blessed to get information on their history. I never got a chance to learn any of this history when I was their age so I am just soaking it all in myself. The South is a great history teacher and if your child chooses to attend one of the colleges we visited, they will be on their way to a knowledgeable and fruitful journey.
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