Benjamin E. Mays
| Benjamin Mays | |
|---|---|
Mays by Robert Templeton, 1969
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| 6th President of Morehouse College | |
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In office August 1, 1940 – July 1, 1967 |
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| Preceded by | Charles D. Hubert |
| Succeeded by | Hugh Morris Gloster |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Benjamin Elijah Mays August 1, 1894 Ninety Six, South Carolina, U.S. |
| Died | March 28, 1984 (aged 89) Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. |
| Resting place | Morehouse College Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. |
| Nationality | American |
| Spouse(s) |
Ellen Harvin (m. 1920–23) Sadie Gray (m. 1926–84) |
| Alma mater |
Bates College University of Chicago |
| Occupation | Minister, academic |
| Known for |
Civil Rights Movement Peace movement |
| Religion |
Christianity Baptist (Progressive National Baptist Convention) |
 No Man Is Ahead of His Time - Dr. Benjamin E. May's delivers Dr. King's Eulogy Mount Zion Progressive Missionary Baptist Church, April 9, 1968 |
Benjamin Elijah Mays (August 1, 1894 – March 28, 1984) was an American author, minister, professor, orator, and leader in the civil rights movements of the 1950s and 1960s. He is best known for his role in the advancement of civil and political rights of African Americans in America.
Born in Ninety Six, South Carolina, Mays graduated from Bates College in Lewiston, Maine and the University of Chicago. He began his career in activism as a pastor in the Shiloh Baptist Church in Atlanta, Georgia. After receiving his doctorate, he went on to teach at Morehouse College, before being appointed dean of the School of Religion at Howard University in 1934. In 1940, he was appointed to serve as the President of Morehouse College where over his 27 years as head he saw the doubling of the campus, quadrupling of the endowment, and garnered a national reputation for the college. After stepping down in 1967, he continued his work in the African American community by becoming a leader within the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and the World Council of Churches. Due to his increased public status in the U.S. he was asked to serve as an adviser to U.S. Presidents John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson, and Jimmy Carter. He was elected as the first African-American President of the Atlanta Public Schools Board of Education and in line with the Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education Supreme Court order, desegregated the public school system of Atlanta.
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