My Experience: The Unsung Heroes of the Greensboro Sit-Ins

By Stephen Chesley

Having the opportunity to represent Howard University the John H. Johnson School of Communications and work on a project about the Greensboro Four was truly an amazing experience. I felt so honored to help shed light on the courageous actions of those brave young men fifty years ago. Their actions helped spark the civil rights movement; a movement that made it possible for me to sit here writing about my experience on a collegiate interdisciplinary multi-media journalism and radio television and film project. I can’t even imagine where I would be, as a young black man in the twenty first century, without the changes that the civil rights activists of the past initiated.

Beyond the content, it was great to work alongside all of the other students, especially those from my fellow HBCUs. Positive energy soared throughout each of the anniversary celebrations, as we all gathered to honor and document the awe-inspiring events that tookplace 50 years ago at F.W. Woolworth’s in Greensboro, North Carolina. The activist spirit, that some say today’s youth have lost, was clearly present the weekend of February 1, 2010 as we came together, with students and participants of all ages, races, creeds and colors in support, respect and admiration of the Greensboro Four.

Podcast by Stephen Chesley

The 50th Anniversary Celebration of the A&T Four

By Reggie Miles

This video is a small footprint of the events that happened during the 50th Anniversary Celebration of the A&T Four. Howard University students from Journalism and the Department of Radio Television and Film documented the commemoration in an interdisciplinary project. Thanks to the students, Department of Radio Television and Film, Journalism and the School of Communications for allowing participation in the Time Warner sponsored  event. Also a special thanks to North Carolina A&T State University for sharing their legacy with Howard University.

Remembering the A&T Four

By Brittani Moncrease

Attending the celebration of the 50th Anniversary of the Greensboro Sit-In was a tremendous experience. It was an historical event that I was blessed to be a part of. I had the opportunity to interview many attendees and participants of the movement such as Jessie Jackson, Steven Smith, Ezell Blair Jr. (Jibreel Khazan), and women from Bennett College.

What moved me the most throughout the celebration was the impact that the women of Bennett College had on the Sit-In movement. Their roles were instrumental in the movement as being the “backbones” and primary influences. It was amazing to see how much support and encouragement these women provided during the sit-ins. This is the unity in the African American culture that I admire. I hope to contribute to the continuation and dispersion of the sprit of unity within the community.

Sharing Legacies: The Greensboro Project

By Professor Reggie Miles

When I first visited the campus of North Carolina A&T State University my breath was taken away at the sight of the towering statue of the four second semester freshman who took upon themselves the mantle of liberation and reignited a movement.

Although not the first instance of a sit-in,  the courageous stand by David Richmond, Franklin, McCain, Ezelle Blair Jr. (Jibreel Khazan), and Joseph McNeil sparked a movement that spread across 9 states and 45 college campuses. The action of these four young men inspired the founders of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, the Freedom Rides and pumped invigorating energy into the Civil Rights movement.

The commemoration of the 50th Anniversary of the Sit Ins opened the door of opportunity for two universities, Howard and North Carolina A&T to share in the great celebration of the historic event. The early 60′s are pivotal to African American history and culture. Other 50 year anniversary milestones that will happen between 2010 – 2015 include, the founding of SNCC, Freedom Rides, the 1963 March on Washington, DC, Bloody Sunday and the passage of the Civil Rights Act. In 2014, Howard University will celebrate the 60th anniversary of “Brown vs. The Board of education the landmark decision that struck down legal segregation.

In joining forces with RTVF, Journalism, African American Studies and other HBCU’s.  We have a great opportunity to reveal the impact of the social action that African Americans took 50 years ago and connecting that history to our students today.   This history is significant because all of us in America today are standing proudly(and not so proudly) on the shoulders of what happened during the 1960′s.  The School of Communications at Howard University should be at the forefront in producing interdisciplinary multimedia content and distributing that content to students of the present generation.

History Revisted

Welcome to the Howard University School of Communications  Interdisciplinary Project “The Fierce Urgency of Now”.  Where do we go from here?

When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir.

This note was a promise that all men would be guaranteed the inalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro a bad check, a check which has come back marked “insufficient funds.”

But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. So we have come to cash this check, a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice.

We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of Now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. (Dr. Martin Luther King, “I Have A Dream” speech 1963)

The primary purpose of the Greensboro Project and subsequent interdisciplinary projects highlighting the years between 1960 – 1965 is to involve the students of the Howard University, John H. Johnson School of Communications in the critical task of documenting, re-interpreting and analyzing the freedom movement through their various media specialties for the purpose of informing and inspiring a new generation to meet the challenges of maintaining community and the essentials of social justice in the 21st century. This is a collaborative activity between faculty,  students and universities that extends the classroom into the community. A long term goal is to encourage the students to continue the investigation of the southern freedom movement and civil rights movement through media, scholarship and preservation.

The The Fierce Urgency of Now Project was founded and organized by  Assistant Professor Reginald Miles. Howard Students Document 50th Anniversary of Historic Sit-ins – Howard University