GREENSBORO, N.C. — North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University hosted a celebratory breakfast on Friday to commemorate the 65th anniversary of the 1960 Woolworth’s sit-ins.
Four North Carolina A&T students sat at Woolworth’s segregated lunch counter on Feb. 1, 1960. The university has celebrated every year since. ABC 45 News reports Friday’s event featured messages about fighting for equality and justice.
The four students, Joseph McNeil, Franklin McCain, Ezell Blair and David Richmond, sat at the Woolworth’s lunch counter, unserved, until the department store closed.
“Their courage forced stores to change their segregation policies, empowering African Americans to advocate for their rights,” said International Civil Rights Center & Museum and Guilford County Commissioner Skip Alston.
The movement continued until July 1960, with an estimated 70,000 sit-in participants.
“They sparked the civil rights movement that completely changed the way I’m able to live my life,” said North Carolina A&T student and February One scholar Jayden Seay.
WATCH NOW: JCSU alumni describe impact of their lunch counter sit-ins in Charlotte
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