Benjamin Mays

Benjamin Mays
Carrie M. Dumas and Julie Hunter · Public domain · source
Name	Benjamin Mays
Caption	Benjamin Mays, c. 1940s
Birth date	01 August 1894
Birth place	Epworth, South Carolina, U.S.
Death date	28 March 1984
Death place	Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.
Alma mater	Bates College (B.A.), University of Chicago (M.A., Ph.D.)
Occupation	Educator, minister, author, civil rights activist
Known for	President of Morehouse College, mentor to Martin Luther King Jr.
Spouse	Sadie Gray Mays

Benjamin Mays Benjamin Elijah Mays was an American Baptist minister, educator, scholar, and a towering intellectual architect of the Civil Rights Movement. As the long-serving president of Morehouse College, he is most renowned for shaping the moral and philosophical foundations of the movement, most notably through his mentorship of Martin Luther King Jr.. His advocacy for social justice, academic excellence, and nonviolent protest left an indelible mark on American history.

Early life and education

Benjamin Mays was born in 1894 in the rural community of Epworth, South Carolina, to parents who were former sharecroppers. His early life was marked by the harsh realities of the Jim Crow South, including a traumatic childhood encounter with a lynching party. Despite significant obstacles, including segregated and underfunded schools, Mays demonstrated an early thirst for learning. He attended the high school program at South Carolina State College and later graduated as valedictorian from Bates College in Maine in 1920. He earned a master's degree in 1925 and a Ph.D. in 1935 from the University of Chicago, where he studied under the renowned sociologist Robert Park. His doctoral dissertation focused on Negro churches and their leadership.

Presidency of Morehouse College

In 1940, Mays began his transformative 27-year tenure as the sixth president of Morehouse College, a historically black men's college in Atlanta, Georgia. He elevated the institution's academic standards and national profile, famously declaring the campus "a haven for students who refused to accept second-class citizenship." Under his leadership, Morehouse became a crucible for civil rights thought and activism. He instituted a required weekly chapel service where he delivered powerful orations on dignity, service, and social responsibility, directly influencing a generation of students known as "Morehouse Men." His presidency saw the construction of new facilities and a significant increase in the college's endowment.

Mentorship of Martin Luther King Jr.

Mays's most famous protégé was Martin Luther King Jr., who entered Morehouse as a freshman in 1944. King was deeply influenced by Mays's sermons and personal guidance, later describing him as his "spiritual mentor" and "intellectual father." Mays's philosophy of a socially engaged Christianity, the inherent dignity of all people, and the strategic use of nonviolence provided the theological bedrock for King's own activism. Their relationship endured until King's death; Mays delivered the eulogy at his funeral in 1968, stating, "Martin Luther King Jr. believed in a united America... a land where men will not take necessities from the many to give luxuries to the few."

Theological and philosophical views

Mays was a proponent of the Social Gospel and a critic of religious complacency in the face of injustice. His theological outlook, detailed in works like The Negro's God as Reflected in His Literature (1938) and Seeking to Be Christian in Race Relations (1957), argued that true Christianity demanded the active pursuit of social and racial equality. He was a staunch advocate for nonviolent resistance, drawing inspiration from both Christian teachings and the philosophies of Mahatma Gandhi. Mays rejected notions of Black inferiority and emphasized the power of education, moral integrity, and disciplined protest to dismantle systemic racism.

Role in the Civil Rights Movement

Beyond the campus, Mays was a nationally respected voice in the Civil Rights Movement. He served as an advisor to national organizations including the NAACP and the SCLC. He used his platform to speak against segregation, most notably as the first African American to serve as president of the Atlanta Board of Education, where he oversaw the peaceful desegregation of Atlanta's public schools. He was also a close colleague of other movement leaders like Howard Thurman and Whitney Young. Mays's writings and speeches, such as his column for the Pittsburgh Courier, provided intellectual heft and moral clarity to the movement's goals.

Later life and legacy

After retiring from Morehouse in 1967, Mays remained active in public life, serving as president of the Atlanta Public Schools board and publishing his autobiography, Born to Rebel (1971). He received numerous honors, including over 60 honorary degrees. The Benjamin E. Mays High School in Atlanta and the Benjamin E. Mays International Magnet School in Saint Paul, Minnesota are named in his honor. His legacy endures as that of a master educator who fused faith, reason, and courage to combat racial oppression. He is often called the "schoolmaster of the movement," having directly shaped the leadership and ideology that propelled the struggle for civil and political rights in the United States.