Event Commemorates 50th Anniversary of Greensboro Four
A pivotal time in America’s history is remembered at the Smithsonian, and at Booz Allen.
Heralding the 50th anniversary of a historic episode in the civil rights movement, Booz Allen Hamilton hosted the three surviving members of the Greensboro Four at an event at its headquarters on February 4, 2010.
A reception for more than 80 Booz Allen employees and invited guests at the firm’s Newman Center in McLean, Virginia was followed by a panel discussion with the civil rights icons, moderated by Booz Allen executive advisor and former WJLA-TV anchor Paul Berry.
On February 1, 1960, Franklin McCain, Ezell Blair, Jr., Joseph McNeil, and David Richmond—the Greensboro Four—were freshmen at A&T State University. They were refused service because of their race when they sat at a segregated lunch counter at F.W. Woolworth’s in Greensboro, North Carolina. They returned the next day and were again refused service. But their determination inspired similar peaceful protests and sit-ins throughout the South in the months to come. In July, Woolworth’s integrated its stores.
McCain graduated with a degree in chemistry and biology, and became a chemist and executive. Blair changed his name to Jibreel Khazan, earned a degree in sociology, and worked with the developmentally disabled. With a degree in engineering physics, McNeil served as a captain in the U.S. Air Force and major general in the Air Force Reserves. Richmond became a counselor-coordinator and porter, and was awarded a posthumous honorary doctorate degree from A&T after his death in 1990.
Booz Allen partnered with the See Forever Foundation to provide a live simulcast webcast of the February 4 discussion to 30 students at the Maya Angelou Public Charter School in Washington, D.C. and 74 webcast registrants. Prior to the event, executive vice president Reggie Van Lee introduced the foundation’s executive director, Dr. Linda Murphy, who welcomed the audience and presenters on behalf of the school.
“This is one of the programs that support the firm’s commitment to diversity, arts, and culture,” says Booz Allen associate Christine Hoisington. “It also provided an opportunity for employee groups such as the African-American Forum to participate and invite guests.”
Martin Luther King Jr. Family Weekend at the Smithsonian
On January 16-18, 2010, Booz Allen also sponsored the three-day Martin Luther King Jr. Family Weekend at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History (NMAH). The weekend included lectures, activities, and performances based on stories of freedom and justice.
“The Family Weekend was very successful—more than 41,000 people visited the museum over the three days,” says NMAH director of public affairs Melinda Machado.
“This is the first year the museum presented its Martin Luther King holiday as a three-day festival,” says Chris Wilson, NMAH director of daily and African-American programming. “This was made possible by the generous support of Booz Allen. Our total daily visitors exceeded the daily attendance levels of any of our single-day MLK holiday programs over the last five years. Booz Allen’s support also allowed us to promote civil dialogue about issues that challenge modern Americans, just as they have throughout the nation’s history.”
An especially popular program was a theatrical presentation called “Join the Student Sit-Ins.” Presented at the historic lunch counter from the Greensboro Woolworth’s store—one of the NMAH’s permanent exhibitions—the program familiarizes audiences with the intensely powerful experience and potential dangers of a sit-in. It includes information from a 1960s training manual on how to stage a sit-in, including suggestions on dressing in your Sunday best and why men should wear only clip-on ties.
The NMAH used the holiday weekend to debut “Sing for Freedom,” a presentation of music from the civil rights era drawn from research led by the Smithsonian. Many visitors may not know the rich history behind the music, Wilson says: “It’s my hope that in learning its story, visitors may learn something about their own abilities and potential and the ways in which they may become involved civic participants in creating what Dr. King called ‘the beloved community.’”
Other events included an interview with Carlotta Walls Lanier and Ernest Green, two of the Little Rock Nine students who integrated Arkansas’ Central High School in 1959. It was conducted by National Public Radio’s Juan Williams and presented in collaboration with the National Museum of African American History and Culture. Following the interview, Lanier signed copies of her book, A Mighty Long Way: The Story of the Little Rock Nine.
NMAH audiences also took part in a book signing by veteran reporter Helen Thomas. She signed copies of her children’s book, The Great White House Breakout, as well as Listen Up, Mr. President: Everything You Always Wanted Your President to Know and Do, which she co-authored with Craig Crawford.
story posted February 9, 2010
