North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University commemorated the 66th anniversary of a student-led sit-in Friday morning.
The event was held virtually due to weather concerns.
Every year, N.C. A&T honors the four freshmen who helped integrate Woolworth’s lunch counter in Greensboro, and launched a sit-in movement across the South: Jibreel Khazan (formerly Ezell Blair Jr.), Franklin McCain Sr., Joseph McNeil and David Richmond Jr.
This event’s theme was “Rooted in Legacy: Impacting Generations.” A panel of graduates, including Frank McCain Jr., discussed the parallels from the protest in 1960 to today.
“I think what my father and the others confronted during that period of time was a system that normalized exclusion while calling it order," McCain said. "And so today, I think we see a lot of similar patterns.”
He cited national examples, but also touched on a recent local change — the State Board of Elections’ decision to remove A&T’s early voting site.
“I think history shows us that voter suppression often disguises itself as administrative decision-making, particularly when Black political participation is at stake," he said.
A recording of the event can be found on N.C. A&T’s YouTube channel.