North carolina at history
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Civil Rights Digital Library
- Authoritative Name:
- McCain, Franklin, 1941-2014
- Biography:
- Franklin Eugene McCain is one of the original four who took part in the Woolworth sit-in on February 1, 1960 in Greensboro, North Carolina. "Franklin Eugene McCain was born in Union County, North Carolina, in 1942, and raised in Washington, D.C. He graduated from Eastern High School in 1959 and attended North Carolina A&T State University. McCain and three other A&T freshmen, now known as the 'Greensboro Four,' are credited with initiating the sit-in movement when they sat down at the F. W. Woolworth lunch counter in Greensboro on February 1, 1960 and requested service. McCain also participated in the negotiations between the student protestors, Woolworth’s management, and the Human Relations Commission. In 1964, McCain graduated from A&T with a degree in chemistry and biology. The following year he married Bettye Davis, a Bennett College alumna and fellow participant in the Greensboro civil rights demonstrations. He also began work for the Celanese Corporation in Charlotte, North
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Franklin McCain
African-American civil rights activist (1941–2014)
For his grandson, the gridiron football player, see Franklin McCain III.
Franklin McCain
McCain c. 1960
Born Franklin Eugene McCain
(1941-01-03)January 3, 1941Union County, North Carolina, US
Died January 9, 2014(2014-01-09) (aged 73) Moses Cone Hospital, Greensboro, North Carolina, US
Resting place Oaklawn Cemetery,
Charlotte, North Carolina, USEducation North Carolina A&T State University (BS, MA) Occupation(s) Civil rights activist, Chemist Known for Staging the Greensboro sit-ins Spouse Bettye Davis McCain
(m. 1965; died 2013)Children 3 Franklin Eugene McCain (January 3, 1941 – January 9, 2014) was an American civil rights activist and member of the Greensboro Four. McCain, along with fellow North Carolina A&T State University students Ezell Blair Jr., Joseph McNeil and David Richmond, staged a sit-in protest at the Woolworth lunch counter in Greensboro, North Ca
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Christopher Wilson, Director of Experience and Program Design, reflects on the legacy of Civil Rights activist and friend, Franklin McCain.
Today our nation has lost a true champion of democracy. Franklin McCain, one of the Greensboro Four, four college students who staged a sit-in at the "whites only" lunch counter in Greensboro, North Carolina, on February 1, 1960, has died after a short illness. If our democracy depends on citizens taking an active role in society and working to ensure the nation lives up to the promise of its founding, then there are few better models than Frank.
On the second day of the Greensboro sit-in, Joseph A. McNeil and Franklin E. McCain are joined by William Smith and Clarence Henderson at the Woolworth lunch counter in Greensboro, North Carolina. (Courtesy of Greensboro News and Record).
McCain was born in Union County, North Carolina, in 1942 and grew up in Washington, D.C., before moving to Greensboro to attend North Carolina A&T. Even as a child, McCain had challenged the system of racial segregation he saw all around him by drinking ou
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