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On the afternoon of Feb. 1, 1960, the Greensboro Four walked into the Elm St. Woolworth's in teams of two: Joseph McNeil and Franklin McCain first, then Ezell Blair Jr. (now Jibreel Khazan) and David Richmond. They had a carefully thought-out plan and a number of emotions.
"We walked through that door. I was nervous," said Khazan during a recent interview.
"He was probably much more sure than I was," said McNeil of Khazan. "(We had) a sense of pride because we sensed we were doing something that was certainly important to us."
"I was too angry to be afraid," said McCain.
" Anxiety, yes, and the anxiety was about the unknown. There were two possibilities on Feb. 1 for me: I knew that when we walked downtown for one of two things would happen to Franklin McCain. First of all, I knew my days as a student were going to be over. I knew that. If I were lucky, I would go to jail for a long, long time. If I were not quite so lucky, I would come back to my campus in a pine box," said McCain.
The four students walked with that anxiety to a merchandise counter and bought school supplies. McCain said they wandered around the store for another three minutes, which felt more like 45.
"And I looked at Joseph McNeil and he looked at me without saying a word, and we looked at the counter and we strolled to that counter and took a seat," said McCain.
"When we sat down at the lunch counter, we sat down slowly," said Khazan.
Twenty seconds after sitting down, McCain said the most amazing feeling swept over him.
"I had a feeling of self-fulfillment. I had a feeling of dignity a hundred feet tall. I had a feeling of invincibility. I was somebody through my own accord and through my own actions. Quite honestly, I wouldn't have felt cheated if I had died at that counter at that very instant," said McCain.
A few seats down, Khazan was still questioning what he and the other three were doing.
"What am I doing sitting at this lunch counter? Am I going to get killed? Is the police going to beat the hell out of me?" he recalled thinking.
Khazan said these doubts were stronger for he and David Richmond because they were both from Greensboro. Their families lived here and their actions weren't just risky for them; they were risking the livelihoods of their loved ones in Greensboro.
On the other side of the counter, the Woolworth's wait staff seemed to have questions, too.
"I think the waitress and the counter people were so perplexed and so surprised they tried to ignore us," said McCain.
After a few minutes, the A&T Four ask for service, only to be told by waitresses that Woolworth's followed the local custom and the four would have to eat at the Negro counter in the back of the store. There, they'd wait to be served, then eat standing up.
McCain said the four politely declined and asked again to be served where they were sitting.
"They told us they weren't going to serve us, and they warned us we were going to get in a lot of trouble. They warned us the policeman was coming," said McNeil.
McCain said that's when he noticed an old white woman a few seats to his left, eyeing them.
"We walked through that door. I was nervous," said Khazan during a recent interview.
"He was probably much more sure than I was," said McNeil of Khazan. "(We had) a sense of pride because we sensed we were doing something that was certainly important to us."
"I was too angry to be afraid," said McCain.
" Anxiety, yes, and the anxiety was about the unknown. There were two possibilities on Feb. 1 for me: I knew that when we walked downtown for one of two things would happen to Franklin McCain. First of all, I knew my days as a student were going to be over. I knew that. If I were lucky, I would go to jail for a long, long time. If I were not quite so lucky, I would come back to my campus in a pine box," said McCain.
The four students walked with that anxiety to a merchandise counter and bought school supplies. McCain said they wandered around the store for another three minutes, which felt more like 45.
"And I looked at Joseph McNeil and he looked at me without saying a word, and we looked at the counter and we strolled to that counter and took a seat," said McCain.
"When we sat down at the lunch counter, we sat down slowly," said Khazan.
Twenty seconds after sitting down, McCain said the most amazing feeling swept over him.
"I had a feeling of self-fulfillment. I had a feeling of dignity a hundred feet tall. I had a feeling of invincibility. I was somebody through my own accord and through my own actions. Quite honestly, I wouldn't have felt cheated if I had died at that counter at that very instant," said McCain.
A few seats down, Khazan was still questioning what he and the other three were doing.
"What am I doing sitting at this lunch counter? Am I going to get killed? Is the police going to beat the hell out of me?" he recalled thinking.
Khazan said these doubts were stronger for he and David Richmond because they were both from Greensboro. Their families lived here and their actions weren't just risky for them; they were risking the livelihoods of their loved ones in Greensboro.
On the other side of the counter, the Woolworth's wait staff seemed to have questions, too.
"I think the waitress and the counter people were so perplexed and so surprised they tried to ignore us," said McCain.
After a few minutes, the A&T Four ask for service, only to be told by waitresses that Woolworth's followed the local custom and the four would have to eat at the Negro counter in the back of the store. There, they'd wait to be served, then eat standing up.
McCain said the four politely declined and asked again to be served where they were sitting.
"They told us they weren't going to serve us, and they warned us we were going to get in a lot of trouble. They warned us the policeman was coming," said McNeil.
McCain said that's when he noticed an old white woman a few seats to his left, eyeing them.
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