Sixty-five years ago, on Feb. 1, four Black North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University freshmen sat down at a segregated lunch counter at the Woolworth's in Greensboro. 

The Black men sat down at the whites-only lunch counter and asked to be served. When told to leave, they stayed in their seats. The protest helped renew energy within the civil rights movement that day in 1960, according to the university.

On Friday morning, North Carolina A&T Alumni-Foundation Events Center celebrated those four men with an annual sit-in event called “Perseverance: The Power of an Ageless Evolution.”

• Ret. Air Force Maj. Gen. Joseph McNeil

• Jibreel Khazan (formerly Ezell Blair Jr.)

• The late Franklin McCain Sr.

• The late David Richmond Jr.

They also recognized the essential contributions of unsung heroes who helped the A&T Four’s historic protest achieve not only social change, but laws across the country. 

Those included students and faculty from other universities and schools who had provided safe havens and supplies to protesters at the time. 

Also presented at the event was the N.C. A&T Human Rights Medal, awarded by the university to those who have made significant civil and human rights impacts.

Past honorees include the North Carolina Superintendent of Public Instruction Mo Green, North Carolina Supreme Court Justice Anita Earls and the late U.S. Rep. John Lewis.

This year’s honoree was State Senator Gladys Robinson of the North Carolina General Assembly for her work with Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), and recent efforts in education. She was also recently named NAACP woman of the year. 

“My experiences have taught me that we must be the ones to help,” she told students and faculty Friday morning. “It became determined that every Black child who wanted an education would have it, if I could do anything about it,” Robinson said.

Watch a replay of the event here.

This famous photo was taken of the Greensboro Four at Woolworth's in February 1960. (Spectrum News 1)