Greensboro Sit-ins - Launch of a Civil Rights Movement
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Key Players
Franklin Eugene McCain
Franklin McCain, one of the Greensboro Four, was born in Kannapolis and raised in Washington. He graduated from Washington’s Eastern High School in 1959. He received a bachelor’s degree in chemistry and biology from N.C. A&T in 1964.
While studying at A&T, McCain roomed with David Richmond, another of the original sit-in participants. Their room was around the corner from Ezell Blair Jr. and Joseph McNeil on the second floor of Scott Hall.
McCain joined Hoechst-Celanese Corp. in Charlotte in 1965 as a chemist, going on to become a section leader in its home furnishings fibers division.
Some of his civic activities in Charlotte include serving as co-chairman of Fighting Back, an anti-drug program; a member of a county budget committee and a city government efficiency committee; former issues committee chairman for the Black Political Caucus; chairman of the state committee of the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund; and a member of a committee on resources for magnet schools.
In 1993, he received the Nancy Susan Reynolds Award for leadership and was appointed to A&T’s board of trustees in 2005. He is now chairman of the board of trustees.
McCain is married to the former Bettye Davis, a Bennett College alumna and former principal of Long Creek Elementary School in Charlotte. They have three sons, Franklin Jr., Wendell and Bertrand.
Audio (MP3)
Bennett's involvement in the sit-ins (2:54)
Whose idea was it? (1:17)
Ralph Johns' involvement (:57)
Why we did it (2:07)
It was done on a dare (1:00)
The incident that sparked the sit-ins (:57)
McCain always defied the system (1:04)
No reason to wearing the uniform (1:11)
We had no offer of help (:56)
What is going to happen? (1:14)
Why Woolworth? (1:10)
What happened that first day (3:42)
The four are denied service (1:37)
The police arrive and Woolworth closes (2:05)
Day 1: "I have never felt so confident in all my life" (2:03)
The four try to rally support; few believe them (2:01)
Day 2: Heckling begins (3:44)
The word spreads (1:48)
Sit-ins started as something personal (:55)
What made Greensboro sit-ins different (1:04)
We accomplished something, but it became a burden (2:16)