Franklin Mc Cain

Franklin Mc Cain @ Greensboro NC Counter Sit-In 1960

Franklin Mc Cain 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. Mc Cain and other four other freshmen, who would later become known as the "Greensboro Four" are credited with initiating the sit-in movement at the F.W. Woolworth lunch counter on February 1, 1960. They requested service even though they would be denied because they were African American and this violated segregation laws.

Four years later in 1964 he graduated from A&T with a degree in Chemistry and Biology. He married Bettye Davis, a Bennett College alumna and fellow participant in the Greensboro civil rights demonstrations and he also began work for the Celanese Corporation in Charlotte, N.C. where he worked for almost 35 years.

Franklin Mc Cain has remained involved in civic activities, community organizations,such as the NAACP Legal Defense Fund and Educational Fund, served as chair to the North Carolina Regional committee. He severed on the board for Bennett College and North Carolina Central University. He passed on January 9, 2014 he was 73.

Toni's Thoughts: I salute you for dedicating your life for fighting for social and political justice. Thank you Mr. Mc Cain