CAES alumnus Franklin “Mac” McCain III was the subject of an April 20 Washington Post feature about his family’s civil rights legacy and his own NFL aspirations.

A third-generation Aggie, Mac earned his bachelor’s and master’s in agricultural and environmental systems. He excelled on the football field as well as in the classroom, starting for three years and earning all-conference honors as a cornerback. He has been signed by the NFL’s Denver Broncos as an undrafted free agent.

Read the Washington Post story: Mac McCain, grandson of civil rights icon Franklin McCain, hopes to make it to NFL.

Mac’s grandfather, who died in 2014, was one of the Greensboro Four, four A&T freshmen who sat down and asked to be served at the segregated Woolworth’s lunch counter downtown on Feb. 1, 1960. Their courageous action launched the sit-in movement and changed the world.

“Mac has held tight to two things his grandfather told him: Don’t wait on the crowd to act, and get your education because no one can take it away,” the Post reports.

The article also describes Mac’s commitment to public service. After football, he wants to help solve the problem of food deserts, a desire that was strengthened by a summer internship with fellow Aggie Archie Hart at the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.

“There’s a lot of places around the country, especially in the Black areas of cities, it’s harder to get fresh food or get to a grocery store for people that are handicapped, older people,” McCain told the Post.

“They can’t walk down the street to get food. They might have to go miles away. They might have a corner store or a gas station by their house, but they won’t have fresh food at a Publix or Food Lion. I want to make their life easier. I just want to put myself in position where I can help people.”