Civil rights leader Major General Joseph McNeil (Photo courtesy of Facebook)

MIAMI – Civil rights leader Major General Joseph McNeil who staged the 1960 Woolworth’s lunch counter sit-in in Greensboro, North Carolina, has died, according to news reports.

He was 83.

McNeil and three other Black college freshmen from North Carolina A&T protested over segregation at the department store, where they purchased supplies then sat at the whites-only counter, refusing to leave when denied service.

Within five days, the protest grew from four students to more than 1,000 and spread to over 50 cities in nine states, NBC News reported.

The sit-ins helped lead to the creation of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee and laid groundwork for the 1964 Civil Rights Act.

After graduating from North Carolina A&T in 1963 with a degree in engineering physics, McNeil was commissioned as a second lieutenant through ROTC and began a distinguished Air Force career.

He served as a KC-135 navigator flying in many operations including Arc Light and Young Tiger and the Vietnam War.

Over his service, he logged more than 6,600 flight hours, was reactivated during Desert Storm and rose through the Air Force Reserve to command the 22nd Air Force (in charge of all Air Force reservists east of the Mississippi), and retired in 2000 as a Major General with an extended military family.

His honors included multiple commendations, notably the Distinguished Service Medal.

Joseph carried his military leadership into civilian life, first at IBM, then in finance with Bankers Trust and E.F. Hutton, where he advanced diversity and inclusion initiatives.

He later joined the Federal Aviation Administration as Manager of the Eastern Region Flight Standards Division and led the New York Flight Standards District Office until retiring in 2002.