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Article: Lunch Counter Revolution; 35 Years Ago, They Took Their Seats and Found a Place in History
- Article from:
- The Washington Post
- Article date:
- January 16, 1995
- Author:
CopyrightThis material is published under license from the Washington Post. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Washington Post. (Hide copyright information)
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When Franklin McCain was a 13-year-old growing up in Northeast
Washington in the early 1950s, he started to think about killing
himself.
His parents and grandparents had told him that if he worked hard
in school, loved God and country and minded his manners, he would be
rewarded. But at 13, he already knew it was a "big lie." He played by
the rules and what did he get? "No respect, no manhood, not even a
modicum of decency for obeying all the rules and doing the right
stuff," he said.
When he went to college in North Carolina, he met other young
black men who shared his anger. One February afternoon in 1960, four
of them walked into a five-and-dime, sat down at the whites-only
lunch counter ...