North Carolina A&T State University is honoring the legacy of the Greensboro Four as today marks the 57th anniversary of the Woolworth sit-in.

On February 1, 1960, Jibreel Khazan, Joseph McNeil, Franklin McCain, and David Richmond protested racial segregation by requesting service at a whites-only Greensboro Woolworth lunch counter.

The four A&T freshmen were not served. They returned the next day with more students for another peaceful sit-in. Gradually a movement began to grow across North Carolina and the South.

That summer, many Woolworths were desegregated.

NC A&T’s Dr. Judy Rashid says the celebration attracts community members and students from across Guilford County.

“And we do this annually so that our students can be empowered to take a stand for whatever their passion is, and so one of the questions, or the question, we ask the high school students is, 'What would you be willing to sit-in for today?'”

The event includes a breakfast, walk to the commemorative monument on campus, and roundtable discussion. Among the speakers at today’s events is Dr. Joseph McNeil, one of the Greensboro Four.