Franklin McCain, an influential civil rights leader and member of the "Greenboro Four," died on Thursday, the Winston-Salem Journal reported.
He was 72-years-old. According to reports, he passed away at Moses Cone Hospital after suffering respiratory complications.
The "Greenboro Four" refers to the four North Carolina A&T State University students who staged a sit-in at Woolworth's lunch counter in Greensboro, protesting the chain's refusal to serve black customers.
During the sit-in, McCain was joined by fellow freshmen Joseph McNeil, Ezell Blair Jr. (who was later known as Jibreel Khazan), and David Richmond. The Woolworth's building is currently the site of the International Civil Rights Center & Museum and a nearby street was named February One Place, referring to the date of the sit-in on February 1, 1960.
In addition, a section of lunch counter where the Greensboro Four ate is on display at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C.
Harold L. Martin Sr., the chancellor of A&T, released a statement on McCain's death on Friday.
"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 is without measure," Martin said in the statement. "His legacy will live on in the hearts and minds of Aggies and friends throughout the world."
McCain was born in 1942 and raised in Washington, D.C. He graduated from Eastern High School in 1959 and was accepted to A&T, where he graduated in 1964 with degrees in chemistry and biology.
In 1965, he married the late Bettye Davis, an alumnae of Bennet College and participant in Greensboro Four civil rights demonstrations.
Though McCain worked for the Celanese Corporation in Charlotte for nearly 35 years, he remained active in community leadership, serving as chair of the North Carolina regional committee of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund.
He also served as the chair of the board of trustees at A&T.
