Joseph McNeil (from left), Franklin McCain, Billy Smith and Clarence Henderson take part in Day 2 of the sit-ins at Woolworth on Feb. 2, 1960. McNeil and McCain were members of the Greensboro Four, who initiated the protests. Busboy Charles Bess is behind the counter.
Charles Bess at his home in Greensboro on May 6. Bess was a busboy in February 1960 at the downtown Woolworth Department Store when the four A&T freshmen sat down at the segregated lunch counter.
The Greensboro Four walk out of Woolworth’s on the first day of the sit-in. David Richmond (from left), Franklin McCain, Ezell Blair Jr. (Jibreel Khazan) and Joe McNeil.
Charles Bess at his home in Greensboro on Wednesday, May 6, 2026. Bess was a busboy in February 1960 at the downtown Woolworth Department Store when the four A&T freshmen sat down at the segregated lunch counter.
The International Civil Rights Center & Museum, which opened in 2010 in the former Woolworth store downtown where four N.C. A&T students helped spark the sit-ins movement in the South.
Charles Bess, a busboy in February 1960 at the downtown Woolworth Department Store when the four A&T freshmen sat down at the segregated lunch counter, points out his presence in the background of the iconic photo by Jack Moebes.
Charles Bess at his home in Greensboro on May 6. Bess was a busboy in February 1960 at the downtown Woolworth Department Store when the four A&T freshmen sat down at the segregated lunch counter.
Joseph McNeil (from left), Franklin McCain, Billy Smith and Clarence Henderson take part in Day 2 of the sit-ins at Woolworth on Feb. 2, 1960. McNeil and McCain were members of the Greensboro Four, who initiated the protests. Busboy Charles Bess is behind the counter.
Charles Bess, a busboy in February 1960 at the downtown Woolworth Department Store when the four A&T freshmen sat down at the segregated lunch counter, points out his presence in the background of the iconic photo by Jack Moebes.
Charles Bess at his home in Greensboro on Wednesday, May 6, 2026. Bess was a busboy in February 1960 at the downtown Woolworth Department Store when the four A&T freshmen sat down at the segregated lunch counter.
The Greensboro Four walk out of Woolworth’s on the first day of the sit-in. David Richmond (from left), Franklin McCain, Ezell Blair Jr. (Jibreel Khazan) and Joe McNeil.
The International Civil Rights Center & Museum, which opened in 2010 in the former Woolworth store downtown where four N.C. A&T students helped spark the sit-ins movement in the South.
