Joseph A. McNeil, one of four North Carolina A&T freshmen whose 1960 sit-in at a segregated lunch counter in Greensboro helped ignite a nationwide wave of civil rights protests, has died at 83, The Associated Press reported.
McNeil, who later retired as a two-star Air Force Reserve major general and worked as an investment banker, had been facing health challenges but attended the sit-in’s 65th anniversary earlier this year.
His act of defiance, alongside Franklin McCain, David Richmond and Jibreel Khazan, inspired thousands of students to launch sit-ins across the South, fueling the civil rights movement.
With McNeil’s passing, Khazan is the last surviving member of the A&T Four.
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