By Afrique Kilimanjaro, Editor
It was a night of dining, dancing, and celebrating freedom as the International Civil Rights Center and Museum (ICRCM) commemorated the 64th anniversary of the lunch counter sit-ins with its annual gala held Saturday, July 20, at the Koury Convention Center in Greensboro. This event recalls the courage and commitment of four A&T freshmen, David Richmond, Franklin McCain, Jibreel Khazan (Ezell Blair Jr.), and Joseph McNeil, who bravely challenged the status quo of segregation by sitting down at the lunch counter of the FW Woolworth five-and-dime in downtown Greensboro on February 1, 1960. Museum co-founder Skip Alston said, “When those four young men sat down, the rest of America stood up for freedom, justice and equality. That started the modern-day Civil Rights Movement right here in Greensboro, North Carolina.”
After the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the gala’s organizers moved the event date to the summer months. The gala serves as the museum’s signature fundraising event. Alston also said the museum has applied to be designated a World Heritage Site by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, UNESCO.
This year’s gala honored six champions of civil rights: Rev, Dr. Benjamin E. Chavis Jr., president of the National Newspaper Publishers Association; William “Bill” Bell, a former member of the Durham County Board of Commissioners and former mayor of Durham, N.C.; Heather Booth, a civil rights activist, feminist and political activist; Dorothy “Dot” Kendall Kearns, former member and first chairwoman of the Guilford County Board of Commissioners; Frankie T. Jones Jr., a Guilford County Commissioner and Greensboro attorney; and Yvonne Lyons Cooper-Revell, a retired educator and Greensboro native, who participated in the Woolworth lunch counter sit-ins while a student at Bennett College.
During a press conference at the International Civil Rights Center and Museum, site of the former FW Woolworth five-and-dime store. The award recipients gathered at the original lunch counter, where they discussed how and what inspired them to work on issues of civil rights.
Oxford, N.C. native Rev. Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis received the Alston/Jones Civil & Human Rights Award, the museum’s highest award. Chavis has a storied history of advocating for civil rights and environmental justice. He served as the state youth coordinator for Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and with the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.
Chavis was part of the Wilmington Ten, a group of nine young men and one woman, who were wrongly convicted of arson and conspiracy during a 1971 school integration protest in Wilmington, N.C. After heavy petitioning and investigations by legal and academic scholars and investigative reporting led by North Carolina Black newspapers with the National Newspaper Publishers Association, the Wilmington Ten were granted pardons of innocence by then- N.C. Governor Beverly Perdue.
Chavis went on to serve as NAACP Executive Director and CEO, national director and organizer of the Million Man March, and president of the National Newspaper Publishers Association.
Chavis said, “This year marks the 197th anniversary of the Black Press, founded in 1827. If we ever need a civil rights movement, now is the time.” He added, “Public education is the backbone of North Carolina. I am against banning books. We should have equal access to education for every student in this state. If you don’t know your past, you are bound to repeat it.”
Chicago resident Heather Booth received the museum’s Unsung Hero Award. As a student at the University of Chicago, Booth was a member of the Congress of Racial Equality (Core) and the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee SNCC). She also participated in Freedom Summer, where she registered African Americans to vote in Mississippi. She was a key figure in establishing the Chicago Women’s Liberation Union (CWLU), and she founded JANE, a group that assisted young women in obtaining abortions. She continues to address major issues such as healthcare reform, financial regulation and consumer protection.
“When I was 15 years old, I was inspired by the sit-ins in Greensboro. Today, we are facing almost a knife’s-edge on which direction we go in this country; between freedom and authoritarianism; between discrimination or a society that actually cares about all of its people,” said Booth. “I’m here to appreciate all of you, to continue this legacy, to have this museum and this celebration, and I’m here to celebrate all who continue the struggle for freedom, justice and democracy for all.”
Greensboro native and Sit-in Participant Award recipient Yvonne Cooper-Revell said she always wanted to take a stand against the injustice of segregation. As a youngster, Cooper-Revell recounted memories of shopping at Woolworth for fabric with her sister, Iris. Cooper discussed her sit-in experience as she sat on the same stool at the lunch counter; the same stool she sat at 64 years ago.
“We lived on McConnell Road, and I passed the signs that read ‘Colored Only’ at the train station, on the buses, at the water fountains, and at downtown stores such as Woolworth. We would do our shopping there, but we could not sit and eat at the lunch counter. It was really humiliating.”
Revell graduated from Bennett and spent 37 years as an educator.
Even in retirement, education leader, former member of the Greensboro and Guilford County Schools Boards and former Guilford County Commissioner, Dorothy “Dot” Kearns, remains active in community service. Kearns received the museum’s Lifetime Community Service Award.
Kearn’s leadership in education and in government spans decades. She was the first woman chairperson of the Guilford Board of Commissioners. She said, “Leadership expands and grows when people are given the opportunity to become excellent leaders.” She added, “Education is the most important means for people to rise out of poverty.”
Kearns continues to positively impact the lives of area residents as vice-chairperson of Public School First North Carolina and a member of the Guilford Roundtable for the N.C. League of Women Voters.
Keeper of the Flame Award Recipient Frankie Jone Jr. was the youngest award recipient of the evening. He said his generation and generations younger than him are beneficiaries of the sacrifices made in the struggle for freedom by people in prior generations. He added it is important to teach young people about their history, or it will be forgotten.
Former mayor of Durham, William “Bill” Bell received the Trailblazer Award for his five decades of public service. Bell was first elected to the Durham County Board of Commissioners in 1972 and spent 12 years as chairperson. He was elected mayor of Durham, serving from 2001 to 2017.
In addressing the upcoming election cycle, Bell emphatically expressed to the audience to, “Organize and vote, vote, vote!”
The celebration continued with performances by the group, One A Cord and Carrie Everett, newly crowned Miss. North Carolina.
For more information on the International Civil Rights Center and Museum, visit the website: https://www.sitinmovement.org.
