January 26, 2025

Welcome to our weekly Sunday newsletter. Explore the pivotal 1960 sit-ins that helped change America’s course and learn how North Carolina A&T State University is commemorating the enduring impact of the A&T Four.

Honoring the A&T Four: 65 Years of Courage and Civil Rights Legacy

By Lisa D. Tinsley

On February 1, 1960, Jibreel Khazan, Joseph McNeil, Franklin McCain Sr., and David Richmond—known as the A&T Four—catalyzed a national movement by staging a nonviolent sit-in at the Woolworth’s whites-only lunch counter in Greensboro, North Carolina. Their courageous protest inspired thousands to demand equal treatment in public spaces, sparking sit-ins across the country and contributing to the inclusion of public accommodations in the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The sit-ins also fueled the rise of the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee, positioning younger generations as leaders in the fight for civil rights.

Today, their legacy is preserved at the International Civil Rights Center & Museum, which houses the original Woolworth’s lunch counter as a symbol of the ongoing struggle for equality. Efforts to designate the site as a National Historic Landmark gained traction after the counter closed in 1993, with scholars recognizing its global significance as part of a potential UNESCO World Heritage nomination. The museum, established in 2010, serves as a testament to the A&T Four's bravery and the transformative power of grassroots activism.

N.C. A&T State University will commemorate the 65th anniversary of the sit-in with a special event on January 31, 2025, titled “Perseverance: The Power of an Ageless Evolution.” The celebration will include a breakfast, guest speakers, and a wreath-laying ceremony at the February One monument. The program will culminate in the awarding of the N.C. A&T Human Rights Medal, underscoring the enduring impact of the A&T Four on the ongoing fight for justice and equality.

campus chronicles // hbcu edition

The Howard University Cancer Center and the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center recently received a $13.5 million grant from the National Cancer Institute to establish the Howard-Johns Hopkins Comprehensive Alliance in Cancer Research, Education, and Equity (H2CAREE), an initiative focused on advancing cancer research, eliminating health disparities among African Americans, and strengthening the cancer research workforce. By bringing together leading scholars from both institutions, H2CAREE will leverage each university’s unique resources to conduct interdisciplinary research, train the next generation of diverse biomedical scientists, and implement community engagement programs that improve patient care for underserved populations.

Clark Atlanta University, a historically Black educational institution in Atlanta, Georgia, has signed an agreement with Borough of Manhattan Community College, a campus of the City University of New York system, that provides a seamless transfer pathway and guaranteed admission for eligible BMCC graduates who have completed their associate’s degree. Under this partnership, students’ prior coursework will be accepted, allowing them to smoothly continue toward a bachelor’s degree.

Meharry Medical College in Nashville, Tennessee, one of four historically Black medical schools in the United States, has recently established a joint M.D./Ph.D program with the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton Health Care Management Department. The initiative allows a student to simultananeously pursue a medical degree from Meharry and a Ph.D. in health care management at the Wharton School, the country’s top-ranked business school according to U.S. News.

black history in quotes 

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culture

Former Vice President Kamala Harris commemorated Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.’s Founders’ Day on January 8, 2025 by hosting her Divine Nine sisters on the Navy Steps of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building at the White House. The event, which marked her fourth year honoring the sorority ahead of its official January 15th Founders’ Day, celebrated Alpha Kappa Alpha’s legacy since its founding at Howard University in 1980, noted Harris’s own membership through the Alpha Chapter in Spring 1986, and highlighted her pride in the sorority’s nationwide impact under the current Administration.

A statement shared with Watch The Yard emphasized the vice president’s focus on partnering with and uplifting National Pan-Hellenic Council organizations, also known as the Divine Nine, and underscored her commitment to working collaboratively “with grace, and with purpose” for the benefit of the entire country. In August, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. formed a political action committee, allowing it to raise funds in support of political candidates, an initiative that further underscores the sorority’s evolving role in civic engagement.

Our editor, Lisa D.Tinsley, would like to thank you for spending part of your day with KISA News Radio.

See you next Sunday.

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