Bluford Library Archives: A History of the A&T Four Commemorative Breakfast
On Feb. 1, 1960, the day four brave North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University freshmen sat at Greensboro’s segregated whites-only Woolworth’s lunch counter and challenged segregation, remains our most famous date since March 9, 1891. For decades, the outstanding legacy of the Greensboro sit-ins has been honored by the North Carolina A&T community with a commemorative breakfast.
After decades of celebrations, you may wonder how the custom of the breakfast began. In the history books, the commemoration wasn’t always a breakfast and it was not always hosted on the Aggieland campus.
David Richmond, Ezell Blair (Jibreel Khazan), Joseph McNeil and Franklin McCain received many honors soon after the sit-in movement. An early noteworthy occasion was the presentation of the “Freedom Cup” at A&T in January 1966. The Four reunited at the Greensboro Woolworth’s lunch counter in 1973 for the ABC TV special, “Whatever Happened to the Greensboro Four?” While that special was being filmed, in stark contrast to Feb. 1, 1960, the Four entered a Woolworth’s where two Black boys and one white boy sat together having drinks and waitresses asked the four Aggies what they wanted without hesitation.
The beginnings of an annual event for community, fellowship and reflection were planned by the February One Society of Greensboro in 1979. Founded by journalist and Professor Hal Sieber, the committee planned the special 20th anniversary reception at Woolworth’s in 1980. A historical marker was unveiled in downtown Greensboro and a convocation at A&T followed on the same day. The Four reunited with Ralph Johns, the Greensboro merchant who encouraged civil protest before 1960, and the event’s speaker, Dr. Samuel Proctor, who was president of A&T from 1960 to 1964.
The February One Society planned further annual luncheons into the early 1990s. The special guest for the 1982 event was Coretta Scott King. The A&T community was fully involved with each commemoration with support and appearances by Chancellor Edward B. Fort, A&T singing legend Margaret Tynes ’41, publisher and Professor Dr. John Kilimanjaro, the Rev. Jesse Jackson ’64 and many others.
For the 25th anniversary, Richmond participated in a re-enactment at the lunch counter, in which he ordered an apple pie and a cup of coffee – the same items he requested Feb. 1, 1960.
An annual luncheon began taking place on the A&T campus. The 30th-anniversary reception in 1990 was a collaboration between A&T, Bennett College, the City of Greensboro and the February One Society with a gala, banquets, and a march from the A&T campus to downtown Greensboro. It was also the last occasion when the Four would be together. Richmond passed away later that year at 49.
More annual events took place at Woolworths until it officially closed in 1993. After several years, the space reopened as the modern International Civil Rights Museum and Center. Efforts to continue an annual celebration of the sit-In movement centered more on the A&T campus. A special luncheon took place in 1991 as part of A&T’s Centennial Celebrations. Over time, the preferred format was to have breakfast on Feb. 1 on the A&T campus.
In 1998, the Four wanted to take the breakfast forum directly to students for access. This led to the first February One event in Williams Cafeteria. For many A&T students who were unaware of the history, it would be a surprise to come to breakfast in the café and find out that the Four and a special guest like Jackson were under the same roof. Since 2001, the A&T Human Rights Medal has been presented at each occasion. Among the honorable recipients are Lewis Brandon III (1991), J. Kenneth Lee, (2004) Dr. Diane Nash (2009) and U.S. Rep. Alma Adams (2020)
The February One breakfast has continued annually on the A&T campus each year, except for the 50th anniversary celebration in downtown Greensboro, and two remote celebrations because of the COVID-19 pandemic. As the community gathers once again in the Alumni-Foundation Event Center in 2023, it is 63 years of a proud heritage of change and civil rights, complemented by more than 40 years of food and fellowship.
The Archives and Special Collections at the Bluford Library keep several collection boxes on the sit-in movement, the annual commemorations, the February One statues, Sieber, and more. For more information about this story or any topic in A&T history, please write to us at libraryarchives@ncat.edu.
