Jibreel Khazan (born Ezell Alexander Blair Jr.; October 18, 1941) is a

civil rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and political life o ...

activist who is best known as a member of the

Greensboro Four The Greensboro sit-ins were a series of nonviolent protests in February to July 1960, primarily in the Woolworth store—now the International Civil Rights Center and Museum—in Greensboro, North Carolina, which led to the F. W. Woolworth Comp ...

, a group of

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

college A college (Latin: ''collegium'') is an educational institution or a constituent part of one. A college may be a degree-awarding tertiary educational institution, a part of a collegiate or federal university, an institution offerin ...

students who, on February 1, 1960, sat down at a segregated

Woolworth's Woolworth, Woolworth's, or Woolworths may refer to: Businesses * F. W. Woolworth Company, the original US-based chain of "five and dime" (5¢ and 10¢) stores * Woolworths Group (United Kingdom), former operator of the Woolworths chain of shops ...

lunch counter in downtown

Greensboro, North Carolina Greensboro (; formerly Greensborough) is a city in and the county seat of Guilford County, North Carolina, United States. It is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, third-most populous city in North Carolina after Charlotte, North Car ...

challenging the store's policy of denying service to non-white customers. The protests and the subsequent events were major milestones in the

Civil Rights Movement The civil rights movement was a nonviolent social and political movement and campaign from 1954 to 1968 in the United States to abolish legalized institutional racial segregation, discrimination, and disenfranchisement throughout the Unite ...

Early life and education

Khazan was born Ezell Alexander Blair Jr. on October 18, 1941, in

. Khazan received his early education from

Dudley High School Dudley Hign School is a coeducational high school on Toorak Hill, Suva, Fiji that is run by the Methodist Church of Fiji and Rotuma. It is named after missionary sister, Hannah Dudley who dedicated her life to taking care of Indian women and orp ...

, where his father taught. His father was a member of the NAACP and very vocal on the subject of racial injustices and "things naturally rubbed off on me", described Khazan in a 1974 interview. It was said that when he experienced unjust treatment based on color, he "stood up." Khazan also recalls an American Civics teacher, Mrs. McCullough, who told her class “We’re preparing you for the day when you will have equal rights.” He was also influenced by

Martin Luther King Jr. Martin Luther King Jr. (born Michael King Jr.; January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American Baptist minister and activist, one of the most prominent leaders in the civil rights movement from 1955 until his assassination in 1968 ...

In 1958, Khazan heard King speak at the local

Bennett College Bennett College is a private historically black liberal arts college for women in Greensboro, North Carolina. It was founded in 1873 as a normal school to educate freedmen and train both men and women as teachers. Originally coed, in 1926 it ...

. He was captivated as King addressed the audience in attendance. At that speech, King called for an escalation of

nonviolent Nonviolence is the personal practice of not causing harm to others under any condition. It may come from the belief that hurting people, animals and/or the environment is unnecessary to achieve an outcome and it may refer to a general philosoph ...

protests to end segregated accommodation. King's words had made a huge impact with Khazan, so much so that he later remarked that "he could feel his heart palpitating" and that the words of King "brought tears to his eyes." In 1959, Khazan graduated from James B. Dudley High School, and entered the A&T College of North Carolina. It was during his freshman year that Khazan and his roommate, Joseph McNeil; along with two other associates,

Franklin McCain Franklin Eugene McCain (January 3, 1941 – January 9, 2014) was an American civil rights activist and member of the Greensboro Four. McCain, along with fellow North Carolina A&T State University students Ezell Blair Jr., Joseph McNeil an ...

and David Richmond, devised a plan to protest against the policies of the segregated lunch counter at the downtown Greensboro F. W. Woolworth's store. On February 1, 1960, Blair, along with McNeil, Franklin and Richmond, took the bold step of violating the Greensboro Woolworth's segregation policy. Khazan stated that he had seen a documentary on Mohandas Gandhi's use of "passive insistence" that had inspired him to act. Each of the participants in the sit-in had different catalysts, but it is clear that the four men had a close friendship that mutually reinforced their desire to act. Hi
1964 interview
describes the Greensboro sit-ins in Chapter 5 of Who Speaks for the Negro? The sit-in demonstrations were just the beginning of Khazan's community involvement. He was elected president of the junior class, and would later become president of the school's

student government association A students' union, also known by many other names, is a student organization present in many colleges, universities, and high schools. In higher education, the students' union is often accorded its own building on the campus, dedicated to social, ...

, the campus NAACP and the Greensboro

Congress for Racial Equality The Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) is an African-American civil rights organization in the United States that played a pivotal role for African Americans in the civil rights movement. Founded in 1942, its stated mission is "to bring about ...

. In 1963, Khazan graduated from A&T College with a

Bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

sociology Sociology is a social science that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. It uses various methods of empirical investigation an ...

and Social Studies. After graduation, He briefly studied law at

Howard University Law School Howard University School of Law (Howard Law or HUSL) is the law school of Howard University, a private, federally chartered historically black research university in Washington, D.C. It is one of the oldest law schools in the country and the old ...

Washington, DC ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan ...

. He continued his education at Massachusetts University and later at the

New England Conservatory of Music The New England Conservatory of Music (NEC) is a private music school in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the oldest independent music conservatory in the United States and among the most prestigious in the world. The conservatory is located on H ...

, where he studied voice.

Later life

As he had been labeled a "troublemaker" for his role in the

Greensboro Sit-Ins The Greensboro sit-ins were a series of nonviolent protests in February to July 1960, primarily in the Woolworth store—now the International Civil Rights Center and Museum—in Greensboro, North Carolina, which led to the F. W. Woolworth Comp ...

, life in Greensboro became difficult for Khazan. In 1965, he moved to New Bedford, Massachusetts, where he worked as a teacher and counselor for the developmentally challenged. In 1968, he joined the Islamic Center of New England and changed his name to Jibreel Khazan. Today Khazan is an oral historian, oracle, Mass-Star Story teller and lecturer.

Legacy

In 1991, Khazan received an honorary doctorate of humanities degree from North Carolina A&T State University. In 2002, North Carolina A&T commissioned a statue to be sculpted honoring Khazan, along with the three other members of the A&T four: Franklin McCain, Joseph McNeil, and David Richmond. In addition, the four men each have

residence halls A dormitory (originated from the Latin word ''dormitorium'', often abbreviated to dorm) is a building primarily providing sleeping and residential quarters for large numbers of people such as boarding school, high school, college or university ...

named for them on the university campus. In 2010, Khazan was the recipient of the James Smithson Bicentennial Medal from the

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...

Personal life

Khazan is married to the former Lorraine France George of New Bedford. Together they have three children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Blair, Ezell A. Activists for African-American civil rights Nonviolence advocates North Carolina A&T State University alumni 1941 births Living people F. W. Woolworth Company African-American Muslims Converts to Islam People from Greensboro, North Carolina Activists from North Carolina