Willie McCleod, member of Rock Hillâs Friendship Nine, passes away at 76
Willie McCleod (Source: WBTV File)
By Steve Crump and WBTV Web Staff | January 1, 2021 at 1:18 PM EST - Updated January 1 at 7:56 PM
ROCK HILL, S.C. (WBTV) - Willie McCleod, one of the surviving members of the Friendship Nine, has passed away at the age of 76.
McCleod was one of nine students from Rock Hillâs Friendship College that were arrested, went to jail, and served 30 days on a chain gang for sitting at an all-whites lunch counter inside the local McCroryâs store in 1961.
Rather than pay the fine, they took the time - and pioneered the âJail, No Bailâ concept, which was widely used in the Civil Rights movement.