Franklin McCain, pioneer of the civil rights sit-in movement, dies at 73

Franklin McCain, an icon of the civil rights movement and a member of the “Greensboro Four,” a group of college freshmen who sparked the nonviolent sit-in movement of the 1960s throughout the South, died Friday at the age of 73.

McCain and three friends — Joseph McNeil, David Richmond and Ezell Blair (now known as Jibreel Khazan) — were freshmen at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University when they drew national attention by launching sit-in protests at a “whites only” F.W. Woolworth lunch counter in Greensboro, N.C., on Feb. 1, 1960.

The four spent that entire day at the lunch counter, refusing to get up and staying until it closed. They returned each day, with more students joining them in protest. Students were taunted, spit on and had food and drinks thrown on them; some were arrested. By the fifth day, more than 1,000 people had joined in. Over the next few weeks, sit-ins began taking place in more than 50 cities across nine states, as students at other black colleges and supporters of the civil rights movement participated in the cause.

After six months of pressure from protesters and intense media coverage, the Woolworth lunch counter in Greensboro desegregated. Prior to the desegregation, blacks had to pick up their food from a door in the rear of the building. The movement led to the creation in Raleigh, N.C., of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, which later became the primary organization behind student protests and actions in the civil rights movement.

The sit-in protests of 1960 and subsequent protests across the South through 1965 helped to pass the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. During an interview on the 50th anniversary of the sit-ins, McCain told The Associated Press that “sitting on that dumb stool” was the "best feeling of my life."

McCain graduated from A&T in 1964, moving to Charlotte and going on to become a research chemist and sales executive. He was a member of the 17-campus University of North Carolina system’s board of governors and also served as chair of the board of trustees at his alma mater. Over the years he received numerous awards for his role in public service and the civil rights movement.

The McCain family released a statement Friday confirming his death. "To the world, he was a civil rights pioneer who, along with his three classmates, dared to make a difference by starting the sit-in movement," the statement read. "To us, he was 'Daddy' — a man who deeply loved his family and cherished his friends."

A statement from A&T Chancellor Harold L. Martin Sr. read, "The Aggie family mourns the loss of Dr. Franklin McCain. His contributions to this university, the city of Greensboro and the nation as a civil rights leader are without measure. His legacy will live on in the hearts and minds of Aggies and friends throughout the world."

Tom Ross, president of the University of North Carolina system, also released a statement.

"What I think people should remember most about Franklin is that his courage and commitment to doing what was right didn't end at Woolworth's," Ross said. "That commitment continued throughout his life, and he channeled it in ways that really mattered, particularly in his service and devotion to our university and to higher education."

The four stools where the men sat during the protests are on display at the Smithsonian Museum in Washington, D.C. The Woolworth has since been turned into a civil rights museum in downtown Greensboro, where visitors can take a guided tour of the lunch counter and see other items from the civil rights era.

McCain’s death leaves only two of the “Greensboro Four” alive. McNeil and Khazan are both in their 70s; Richmond died in 1990. McCain’s wife of 48 years, Bettye, died last year. He is survived by his three sons.