Greensboro’s legacy of nonviolent resistance dates back to the 1930s, according to Adams. She says during that decade, students from Bennett College—a historically black women’s school in the city—led a downtown march protesting the portrayals of African Americans in movies.

“The International Civil Rights Center & Museum is not only good for Guilford County, but it’s good for our state and our nation,” says Adams, 62. “We consider it a treasure here in North Carolina.”

It has even more significance to the Greensboro Four, who lost one of their members 20 years ago when David Richmond died in Greensboro at age 49.

“Dave was a good guy, a stand-up guy who had a heart of gold and was always giving,” says Joseph McNeil, 67, a retired stockbroker and Air Force Reserve two-star general.

Although none of the Greensboro Four pursued civil right careers, “we were absolutely convinced that our cause was right and just and appropriate,” says McNeil, 67, a father of five and grandfather of nine. “If our generation didn’t do it, some other generation would have to.”

Blair S. Walker is a writer in Miami.