Jibreel Khazan
*Jibreel Khazan was born on this date in 1941. He is a Black teacher, counselor, and activist.
Khazan was born Ezell Alexander Blair Jr. in Greensboro, North Carolina. He graduated from Dudley High School, where his father taught. His father was a member of the NAACP and very vocal about racial injustices, and "things naturally rubbed off on me," described Khazan in a 1974 interview. It was said that when he experienced unjust treatment based on color, he "stood up." Khazan also recalls an American Civics teacher, Mrs. McCullough, who told her class, "We're preparing you for the day when you will have equal rights."
Martin Luther King Jr also influenced him. In 1958, Khazan heard King speak at the local Bennett College. He was captivated as King addressed the audience in attendance. At that speech, King called for an escalation of nonviolent protests to end segregated accommodation. King's words had significantly impacted Khazan, so much so that he later remarked that "he could feel his heart palpitating" and that the words of King "brought tears to his eyes." 1959, Khazan graduated from James B. Dudley High School and entered the A&T College of North Carolina. During his first year, Khazan and his roommate, Joseph McNeil, along with two other associates, Franklin McCain and David Richmond, devised a plan to protest the policies of the segregated lunch counter at the downtown Greensboro F. W. Woolworth's store.
On February 1, 1960, Blair, James McNeil, Franklin McCain, and David Richmond took the bold step of violating the Greensboro Woolworth's segregation policy. Khazan stated that he had seen a documentary on Mohandas Gandhi's use of "passive insistence" that had inspired him to act. Each participant in the sit-in had different catalysts, but the four men had a close friendship that mutually reinforced their desire to act. The sit-in demonstrations were just the beginning of Khazan's community involvement. He joined Alpha Phi Alpha, was elected president of the junior class, and would later become president of the school's campus NAACP and the Greensboro Congress for Racial Equality. 1963, he graduated with a bachelor's degree in sociology and social studies.
As he had been labeled a "troublemaker," he moved to New Bedford, Massachusetts, where he worked as a teacher and counselor for the developmentally challenged. After graduation, He briefly studied law at Howard University Law School in Washington, DC. He continued his education at Massachusetts University and later at the New England Conservatory of Music, where he studied voice. In 1968, he joined the Islamic Center of New England and changed his name to Jibreel Khazan. In 1991, Khazan received an honorary doctorate of humanities degree from North Carolina A&T State University. In 2002, North Carolina A&T commissioned a statue to be sculpted to honor Khazan and the three other members of the Greensboro Four. In addition, each of the four men has residence halls named after them on the university campus.
In 2010, Khazan received the James Smithson Bicentennial Medal from the Smithsonian Institution. In 2021, Khazan was honored with renaming a city park in the west end of New Bedford, MA. Khazan is married to the former Lorraine France George of New Bedford. Together, they have three children. Today, Khazan is an oral historian and lecturer.
