Maj. Gen. Joseph McNeil
McNeil's death leaves Jibreel Khazan (formerly Ezell Blair Jr.) as the sole surviving member of the A&T Four, the group of Black college students who staged a sit-in at a segregated Woolworth's lunch counter in Greensboro on Feb. 1, 1960. The protest sparked a nationwide movement that contributed to the passage of the 1964 Civil Rights Act.
David Richmond died in 1990 and Franklin McCain in 2014.
"Joseph McNeil and his fellow North Carolina A&T classmates inspired a nation with their courageous, peaceful protest, powerfully embodying the idea that young people could change the world," said Chancellor James R. Martin II. "His leadership and the example of the A&T Four continue to inspire our students today."
McNeil was 17 when he and his dormitory floormates decided to challenge segregation at the downtown Greensboro Woolworth's store. The catalyst came during a bus trip to campus when McNeil was refused service at a terminal restaurant and directed to eat "around the corner."
"That was the final blow of humiliation. And I had had enough. And I made up my mind that I had to do something," McNeil recalled in a 2014 interview with WUNC FM.
Drawing on his Reserve Officer Training Corps experience at A&T, McNeil helped organize the protest strategy. On that February afternoon, the four freshmen purchased items at Woolworth's before sitting at the whites-only lunch counter and requesting service. When staff refused, they remained seated until closing.
The protest expanded rapidly. Twenty students joined them the second day, 60 the third day, and by week's end, the demonstration had grown to encompass multiple downtown locations with participants from A&T, Bennett College, Dudley High School and the University of North Carolina Greensboro.
The movement gained national attention, with President Dwight Eisenhower expressing sympathy for the students' efforts to "enjoy the rights of equality that are guaranteed by the Constitution." On July 25, 1960, Woolworth's served its first Black customers at the Greensboro lunch counter.
Born March 25, 1942, in Wilmington, North Carolina, McNeil grew up under Jim Crow segregation laws. After graduating from Williston Senior High School, he enrolled at A&T in fall 1959. He later pursued a military career, rising to the rank of major general.
McNeil said that the sit-ins represented more than integration of lunch counters. "It was about choice. It was about having the ability to say, 'I choose to sit down,'" he reflected in 2014. "I don't choose Black water or white water or colored water. I want water."
The A&T Four are commemorated on campus with the February One Monument, a 15-foot bronze and marble sculpture depicting their walk to Woolworth's. McNeil is also honored in Wilmington, where a street section bears his name and a historical marker recognizes his contributions.
Despite health challenges, McNeil attended A&T's February 2025 breakfast commemorating the 65th anniversary of the sit-in, receiving a standing ovation from attendees.
The A&T Four joined a generation of young Civil Rights leaders including John Lewis, Julian Bond, Diane Nash, Marion Barry and the Rev. Jesse L. Jackson, who enrolled at A&T shortly after the historic protest.
North Carolina A&T, established in 1891, is the nation's largest historically Black university and a leading producer of African American graduates in STEM fields.
