Rep. Lewis Mourns the Loss of Greensboro Protestor Franklin McCain

                Rep. John Lewis made these comments upon learning of the death of Franklin McCain, one of the four young men who began the sit-in movement in Greensboro, North Carolina in the 1960s.

                “Franklin McCain must be looked upon as one of the founding fathers of the sit-in movement.  He was one of the four students who inspired an entire generation of young men and women, black and white, to stand-up by sitting down.  Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said that the four young men who sat down in Greensboro taught us all how to use the power of passive resistance on a mass scale.

“Because Franklin McCain had the courage and the vision to take non-violent action, along with his three friends, the sit-in movement spread across the South like wildfire.  Sit-ins commenced in Nashville, Atlanta, Memphis, Jackson, Montgomery and many other cities across America. 

“Franklin McCain was one of the founders of a New America, a nation that was transformed because he lived.  Every citizen of this country owes him a debt of gratitude because he insisted that we create a more fair, more just democracy.  We are a better people and a better country because Franklin McCain lived.”

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