Contact: Ralph Derickson

From left, David Richmond, Franklin McCain, Ezell Blair Jr. (now Jibreel Khazan), and Joseph McNeil in the only photo taken as they left the Greensboro Woolworth store on Feb. 1, 1960. The four college students, who became known as the Greensboro Four, made a difference not only in North Carolina but across the country. The sit-ins they sparked lasted about a week and became an important aspect of the Civil Rights movement, inspiring similar nonviolent demonstrations in 54 cities in nine southeastern states.

Jack Moebes,
Greensboro Daily News

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Jan. 15, 2004) -- A free screening of the award-winning documentary, “February One,” written and co-produced by University of Kentucky history professor Dan Smith, will be shown at 11:30 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 31, at the Kentucky Theatre on Main Street in Lexington.

“February One” tells the remarkable story of the volatile winter of 1960 in Greensboro, N.C., when four courageous young African-American students sat down for service at a lunch counter and by doing so helped ignite a wave of non-violent civil rights protests that swept across the South and the nation throughout the 1960s.

Drawing on first-hand accounts and rare archival footage of the sit-in movement, this is the story of four ordinary young men whose extraordinary actions changed the course of American history.

Produced by Video Dialog Inc. in Durham, N.C., “February One” has been the official selection at film festivals throughout the nation including the Independent Film Producers Market Festival in New York, Duke University’s Full Frame, Key West Indiefest, Nashville and Memphis Independent Film Festivals, Telluride Indiefest, and a special screening at the Smithsonian. It is slated for broadcast on the Public Broadcasting System (PBS) later this year.

For more information, contact Dan Smith at (859) 257-1515 or dbsmit01@uky.edu, or visit the film’s Web site.