Thursday, August 7, 2008

BLACK HISTORY SPOTLIGHT: DR. BENJAMIN E. MAYS


Dr. Benjamin E. Mays (1894-1984) was a teacher, preacher and one of the most outspoken critics of segregation prior to the modern CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT.

Born in Epworth, South Carolina, on August 1, 1894, Mays was the youngest of eight to former slaves. His childhood played an important role in shaping who he would become, and one of his earliest memories included a white mob approaching his family’s home on horseback forcing his father to remove his hat and bow repeatedly. The atmosphere of hate and segregation that plagued the country at that time became the defining period of his life. It was then that he realized he wanted something better for his life and for others around him.

He left Epworth to attend high school at South Carolina State College, the only state funded, historically black land-grant institution in South Carolina. In 1916, he graduated as valedictorian and continued his education at Bates College, a highly selective, private liberal arts college in Lewiston, Maine, that was founded by abolitionists. Mays graduated PHI BETA KAPPA in 1920, and continued his education with a master’s degree in 1925 and a Ph.D. in 1935 from the University of Chicago.

In 1922, Mays was ordained a Baptist minister and served as pastor of the Shiloh Baptist Church of Atlanta from 1921–1923. Recruited by Morehouse President JOHN HOPE, Mays joined the faculty as a mathematics teacher and debate coach. He later taught at his alma mater, South Carolina State, where he met his future wife, Sadie Gray, a teacher and social worker. They were married for forty-three years, from 1926 until her death in 1969.

Mays was appointed dean of the School of Religion at Howard University in 1934 and served until he was named president of Morehouse in 1940. During his presidency, Morehouse gained international prominence: Mays upgraded the faculty, established a Phi Beta Kappa chapter and sustained enrollment during wartime America. His most noted forum was Tuesday morning Chapel in historic Sale Hall, where he challenged and inspired the students to excellence in scholarship and in life itself. One of Morehouse’s most distinguished graduates, DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. ‘48, considered Dr. Mays his “spiritual mentor” and “intellectual father”. Mays gave the eulogy at King’s funeral.

Throughout his life, Mays emphasized two themes: the dignity of all human beings and the gap between American democratic ideals and American social practices. These became key elements of the Civil Rights Movement and Mays explored them at length in his book, Seeking to Be a Christian in Race Relations, published in 1957.

Following his retirement ten years later, Mays was elected the first black president of the Atlanta Public Schools Board of Education, where he supervised the peaceful desegregation of Atlanta’s public schools. One of Atlanta’s public high schools was named in his honor: BENJAMIN E. MAYS HIGH SCHOOL boasts a rich, rigorous curriculum that exposes students to current technology and trends. Mays also served as an adviser to Presidents Johnson and Carter and was active in the Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA), the Advisory Council of the Peace Corps, and the National Commission for the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization.

Throughout his educational career, Mays received 56 honorary degrees and more than 65 honors and awards from state, national and international organizations. He published nearly 2000 articles and nine books, including two autobiographies, Born to Rebel (1971) and Lord, the People Have Driven Me On (1981).

In 1981, his childhood home in Epworth was honored and a nearby intersection was renamed Mays Crossroads. Mays had been honored the year before becoming the second African American to have his portrait hung in the South Carolina State House.

Called the “Schoolmaster of the [Civil Rights] Movement” by historian LERONE BENNETT JR., Mays shaped many proud, black men, some of whom played key roles in the movement. JULIAN BOND remarked that “He was the embodiment of everything we wanted to be, and even though we knew we could never achieve his greatness, we strove to be like him. I revered him.”

On March 28, 1984, Dr. Mays died and was entombed on the campus of Morehouse College.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I'm a graduate of Morehouse. It was during Dr. Mays tenure that the school first developed the great reputation it enjoys today. At his tomb on campus, there is a life-sized statue of him in academic regalia. Students and others have been known to "talk" to that statue when they need some spiritual uplift. Mays was the man. They actually called him "Walking Integrity." How's that for a nickname? Thanks for this post.