Black History

Joseph McNeil, 1960 Greensboro Sit-In Demonstrator, Dies at 83

Joseph McNeil, one of the original four North Carolina A&T students who sparked the 1960 Greensboro sit-ins at a Woolworth’s lunch counter, has died at 83. A retired Air Force major general and decorated leader, McNeil’s legacy as a civil rights pioneer helped pave the way for the Civil Rights Act and Voting Rights Act.

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By Rosaland Tyler
Associate Editor
New Journal and Guide

Joseph McNeil, one of the four North Carolina A&T students who participated in the 1960 sit-in demonstration at Woolworth’s “whites only” lunch counter, died on Sept. 4, at age 83.

McNeil grew up in coastal Wilmington. He received a full scholarship to North Carolina A&T, was an ROTC member, and graduated from A&T with degrees in engineering and physics. He was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force. He rose to the rank of major general in the Air Force Reserve Command. He retired as a decorated two-star major general from the Air Force Reserves in 2001 and also worked as an investment banker. He was serving as the deputy director of the Federal Aviation Administration in New York City on Sept. 11, 2001, when the World Trade Center was attacked by terrorists.

The passing of McNeil means Jibreel Khazan – formerly Ezell Blair Jr. – is now the only surviving member of the four. Franklin McCain died in 2014 and David Richmond in 1990.

“We were quite serious, and the issue that we rallied behind was a very serious issue because it represented years of suffering and disrespect and humiliation,” McNeil said in a 2010 Associated Press interview on the 50th anniversary of the sit-in. “Segregation was an evil kind of thing that needed attention.”

In 2019, a stretch of North Third Street in Wilmington between Market and Davis streets was renamed Maj. Gen. Joseph McNeil Way in his honor.

In April 2022, a 15-foot bronze and marble monument of the four lunch counter sit-in demonstrators was installed in front of the historic Dudley Building on the North Carolina A&T State University campus. The “February One” sculpture was created by James Barnhill.

McNeil’s family said a tribute to honor his life will be announced later.

McNeil’s “legacy is a testament to the power of courage and conviction,” his son, Joseph McNeil Jr., said in a recent statement. “His impact on the civil rights movement and his service to the nation will never be forgotten.”

The 1960 lunch counter demonstration sparked other protests that led to the passage of the 1964 Civil Rights Act and the 1965 Voting Rights Act.