Sept. 10. Gov. Josh Stein ordered all US and North Carolina flags at state facilities to be lowered to half-staff from sunrise to sunset on this coming Saturday in honor of civil rights activist Major General Joseph McNeil, who passed away last week.

A Wilmington native, McNeil was one of four college students who on February 1, 1960 refused to give up their seats at a segregated lunch counter at Woolworth Department Store in Greensboro. While attending college at North Carolina A&T State University, he alongside students David Richmond, Franklin McCain and Jibreel Khazan (formerly Ezell Blair Jr.), sparked a movement of peaceful protests in segregated facilities across the country. He also served in the US Air Force where he reached the rank of major general.

“Major General Joseph McNeil, one of the Greensboro Four, shaped civil rights history here in North Carolina and helped spark the movement that changed our country for the better,” said Stein.

Services

Services for Major General McNeil will be held today in Hempstead, NY where he lived for several years. On Sept. 11, services will be held at his alma mater. Funeral services and interment will be held in Wilmington, McNeil’s hometown, on Saturday, Sept. 13.