That's the title of an article in today's News & Record about the late Franklin McCain, one of the 4 young African-American men who stood up against segregation and took their places at the all white Woolworths Lunch Counter in downtown Greensboro back when I was a kid going to school in segregated schools in Greensboro and coming home to play with the black kids next door.
Franklin McCain and the rest of the Greensboro Four, Joseph McNeil, Jibreel Khazan (formerly Ezell Blair Jr.), and David Richmond won their battle because they refused to compromise with what they knew was wrong. They didn't settle for only some lunch counters being desegregated or for whites on one end and blacks at the other end-- For Franklin McCain, Joseph McNeil, Jibreel Khazan and David Richmond it was all or nothing.
Now don't get me wrong, I'm no Franklin McCain or Greensboro Four and I'm not pretending to be. But I to believe in nonnegotiable dignity. For you see, when it comes to matters of class, just like race, the dignity of the working class liberal and conservative alike, is being robbed from us right here in Greensboro by Greensboro's elites and the Greensboro City Council.
Take for example, Tuesday night when I addressed the Greensboro City Council over matters of personal disclosure for council members:
The Greensboro City Council voted 9-0 to pass the voluntary legislation with no penalties without adding any language to actively lobby the NC State House and Senate. Why? Because they don't want to be bound by laws that might make them accountable to the people and they want to continue to be able to negotiate the dignity of Greensboro's working class.
Franklin McCain died before he could finish what he started. Odds are no man could live that long. Greensboro, North Carolina is the 2nd hungriest city in these united states and still our elected leaders keep us down. Send this post to everyone you know and help me to help continue the life's work of Franklin McCain and the Greensboro Four.
