Though there were many milestones on the journey to civil rights for the nation’s African-American population, a key turning point in the struggle began quietly at a Woolworth’s counter in Greensboro. There, four college freshmen sat down and waited for service they knew would not come, an act of protest that echoes through the ages.

Fifty years have passed since those young men helped ignite a revolution, for North Carolina and the nation. Future generations will be able to celebrate their courage at the International Civil Rights Center & Museum, which opened this week in Greensboro and will forever preserve that legacy.

An old adage calls North Carolina “A vale of humility between two mountains of conceit,” but that does not mean the state avoided the ugliness that followed the Civil War and preceded segregation.

Pitt County, like other communities across the state, saw citizens divided along racial lines, by law and by habit, until the push for equality began in the mid-1950s.

What started as simple acts of rebellion against the status quo — a tired seamstress sitting at the front of the bus, for instance — bloomed into a movement against segregation, with leaders calling for full constitutional rights under the law for all Americans. And among those first acts were Franklin McCain, Joseph McNeil, Jibreel Khazan (formerly known as Ezell Blair Jr.) and the late David Richmond, freshmen at North Carolina A&T who sat at the whites-only counter in Greensboro and waited to be served.

That was Feb. 1, 1960, and the days that followed saw that courageous act of defiance repeated across North Carolina and at points farther South. It reflected the principle of non-violent civil disobedience espoused by the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., and would help lead to other sit-ins across the South and, ultimately, to the Civil Rights Act of 1965.

On Monday, North Carolina formally honored that unique moment in history with the opening of the Civil Rights Center in Greensboro. Built at a cost of $23 million, the new facility details the struggle for equality through artifacts, multimedia presentations and exhibits, making it an appealing destination for classes and educational outings.

Included is a replica of the counter where those four brave men sat and changed history.

Their courage helped to repair the torn fabric of the nation, and it is a credit to Greensboro and to North Carolina that their legacy will be forever preserved for posterity.