The Brief

Joseph McNeil, one of four North Carolina college students who participated in a lunch counter sit-in protest in 1960, has died. He was 83.

The demonstration became the impetus for other nonviolent civil rights protests in the South.

Statements released by North Carolina A&T and McNeil's family did not provide his cause of death or where he died. McNeil had been living in New York.

McNeil was a civil rights pioneer and an accomplished Air Force veteran. His son, Joseph McNeil Jr., issued a statement on his father's passing. "Joseph A. McNeil’s legacy is a testament to the power of courage and conviction," said Joseph McNeil Jr. "His impact on the civil rights movement and his service to the nation will never be forgotten."

North Carolina A&T University , a historically Blac

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