James Barnhill, the sculptor who created the monument, was inspired by the historic 1960 image of the four college aged men leaving the downtown Greensboro Woolworth store after holding a sit-in protest of the company's policy of segregating its lunch counters.

[1] Barnhill has won a number of awards for his works including: the Jefferson D. Ruben Memorial Award for classical sculpture and the Leonard J. Meiselman Prize for a ‘realistic sculpture done in the classical tradition.’[2] Other works of his include: Minerva, on the campus of UNC Greensboro;[3] a bronze bust of Booker T. Washington for the Booker T. Washington National Monument; Angel of Montoursville, for the town of Montoursville, Pennsylvania honoring those that died during the TWA Flight 800 crash;[2] and General Greene, a sculpture of Revolutionary War General Nathanael Greene commissioned by the city of Greensboro for its bicentennial celebration.

[4] The four larger-than-life figures, which stand around 10 feet (3.0 m) tall, depict the likenesses of David Richmond, Franklin McCain, Jibreel Khazan (then known as Ezell Blair Jr.) and Joseph McNeil; the four A&T students who became known as the "Greensboro Four" for their sit-in at Woolworth's department store in 1960.

[5][6] In an interview with the A&T Register, the University's newspaper, Barnhill stated that a stronger visual impact would be achieved by showing the four marching as opposed to sitting, and would better capture the essence of the men.

[5] The statue's base, which stands at 5 feet (1.5 m) tall, bears the names of each of the four men, and also, is inscribed on its front: "These four A&T Freshmen envisioned and carried out the lunch counter sit-in of February 1, 1960 in downtown Greensboro.

Citizens in other southern cities began to protest not just for the desegregation of lunch counters, but also for equal service on other public accommodations such as: transport facilities; art galleries; beaches; parks; swimming pools; libraries; and even museums.