Frank McCain, Jr. on the Greensboro Four, his father’s legacy and the movement that changed the nation
Franklin McCain, Jabreel Khazan (Ezell Blair), Joseph McNeil, and David Richmond set out to desegregate the “White’s Only” Woolworth’s Lunch Counter on Feb 1. 1960 Author: Tracey McCain Updated: 9:29 AM EST February 1, 2021
GREENSBORO, N.C. Four NC A&T State University freshmen wanted to change segregation in Greensboro and sparked a movement nationwide. The date: Feb 1, 1960.
The goal was to request coffee at the White s Only Woolworth s lunch counter and remain seated until served. What happened after that, changed history.
We talked to Franklin McCain s eldest son, Frank McCain, Jr. about the day that changed his father s life and the nation.
GREENSBORO â Newspaper photographer Jack Moebes captured the first image of the Greensboro Four, striding down the sidewalk outside the Woolworth store on the first day of the 1960 sit-ins.
His iconic photo from the civil rights protest has appeared in textbooks, documentaries, websites, murals, the Smithsonian, International Civil Rights Center & Museum and several times on the TV quiz show Jeopardy. It also inspired the February One Monument, a larger-than-life bronze representation of the four N.C. A&T freshmen.
Scott Dinsmore from Operation Understanding-DC helped lead a group of students taking in sights from local civil rights sites, including the future International Civil Rights Center and Museum, in 2005 in Greensboro.