GREENSBORO, N.C. — It’s time for ‘My 2 Cents.’
Today is such an important day, not just in local history but the fabric of our nation. On February first, 1960, four Black students from NC A&T took a seat at a Whites-only lunch counter at the Woolworth’s in downtown Greensboro. They simply asked to be served. The store manager asked them to rethink their actions before they got in trouble. Joseph McNeil, Franklin McCain, David Richmond and Jibreel Khazan stayed in their seats until closing.
No doubt, an incredible act of courage that sparked a national movement.
The youngest man that day, Joseph McNeil, was just 17 years old. I was watching an interview he did a couple of years ago. He said he was well aware of the consequences. Just 17 years old at the time and in the interview he said, “At any time we could have been carried out of that store in a pine box.”
By March, sit ins had spread to 55 cities in 13 states. What happened on this day 61 years ago was integral in the Civil Rights movement and inspired thousands of people. I’d say it's still inspirational today.
Because when it seemed impossible. They found a way. When it seemed scary. They found courage. When it seemed fruitless. They found the strength to keep going.
"Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere." Dr. Martin Luther King Jr wrote that in a letter from the Birmingham City Jail in 1963.
I drove by the Woolworth’s this weekend – now the International Civil Rights Center and Museum -- and I thought, what am I doing to address the injustices that still exist in our world today? We all have a role to play – whether it is speaking out against it or taking action to stop it. Diane Nash, another Civil Rights Leader, said it best, “If you are not doing your part, eventually someone is going to have to do their part, plus yours.”