At DHS, Richmond was a popular student, participating in many sports and clubs; he even set the state record for high jump in 1959 while on the track and field team.

After graduating high school, he enrolled in college at North Carolina A&T State University, majoring in business administration and accounting.

During his second semester of college, David and his friends participated in one of the most influential sit-ins of the Civil Rights Movement [2][3] On February 1, 1960, Richmond, along with three other A&T freshmen: Ezell Blair Jr., Franklin McCain and Joseph McNeil, walked together from the university's library to the downtown Greensboro Woolworth store.

[4] Joseph McNeil, Franklin McCain, David Richmond, and Jibreel Khazan asked for service on February 1, 1960, at the F. W. Woolworth department store's lunch counter.

Within the next four days, the protesters grew from four young men to hundreds of students from A&T, UNC Greensboro, Bennett College, and even Dudley High School.

This led to nationwide desegregation of many public facilities, and is considered by some to be the true beginning of the American Civil Rights Movement.

He received multiple death threats and eventually left Greensboro, moving to Franklin, North Carolina, located in the mountains.

Richmond eventually returned to Greensboro to take care of his parents, but had a hard time finding employment while dealing with the label of “troublemaker.” He eventually found a job as a janitor at the Greensboro Health Care Center [6] David Richmond seemed to be haunted by the fact that he could not do more to improve his world, and battled alcoholism and depression before his death.

[9] In 2002, North Carolina A&T commissioned a statue honoring Richmond, along with the three other members of the A&T four: Franklin McCain, Ezell Blair Jr (later known as Jibreel Khazan), and Joseph McNeil.