66th Anniversary of A&T Four Sit-In to be Commemorated Virtually

EAST GREENSBORO, N.C. (Jan. 29, 2026) – North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University’s annual Sit-In Anniversary Celebration will be held virtually instead of in-person because of inclement weather conditions.

The event, themed “Rooted in Legacy: Impacting Generations,” will be Friday, Jan. 30, at 9 a.m. View the celebration here.

It commemorates the 66^th anniversary of when four of the university’s freshmen – Jibreel Khazan (formerly Ezell Blair Jr.), the late Franklin McCain Sr., the late retired Air Force Maj. Gen. Joseph McNeil and the late David Richmond Jr., together known as the A&T Four – energized the civil rights movement in 1960 by sitting in at the downtown Greensboro Woolworth’s lunch counter to receive equal service Feb. 1 that year.

Student Government Association (SGA) President Corey Smith will preside over the event, with February One Scholar Giana Seay introducing panel discussion moderator Chance D. Lynch ‘06, J.D. Lynch is a 2023 recipient of the university’s Human Rights Medal whose work on high-profile civil rights cases has received national recognition.

Panelists are:

• Joyce Hobson Johnson ‘60, founding Executive-in-Residence of Beloved Community Center in Greensboro, retired business professor and nationally-recognized transportation research director at A&T for 27 years, and renowned community and civil rights leader
• Frank McCain Jr. ‘87, son of McCain Sr., president and CEO of the United Way of Greater Greensboro who has held leadership roles in wealth management, higher education and community service boards as a lifelong Greensboro resident
• Vashti Hinton Smith ‘19, second-year law student at Howard University who spent eight years working with Common Cause, was an inaugural Capitol Hill House HBCU Caucus intern in 2016 and NAACP Youth and College Division first vice president from 2015 to 2017

With frigid temperatures and icy conditions across the Piedmont Triad, A&T is operating under Condition I: Reduced Operations through 7 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 31.

Classes are being held remotely during that span.

Under Condition I, A&T remains open, but certain non-mandatory operations may be reduced because of limited staff.

Employees and students are urged to exercise caution in moving around campus and driving to and from campus. Low temperatures have not allowed snow and ice to evaporate, and slick conditions on sidewalks and roads are making travel difficult.