Benjamin Elijah Mays, Schoolmaster of the Movement

Abstract

This full-length biography of Benjamin Mays (1894–1984) chronicles the life of the man Martin Luther King Jr. called his “spiritual and intellectual father.” Dean of the Howard University School of Religion, president of Morehouse College, and mentor to influential black leaders, Mays had a profound impact on the education of the leadership of the black church and of a generation of activists, policymakers, and educators. The author argues that Mays' ability to connect the message of Christianity to the responsibility to challenge injustice prepared the black church for its pivotal role in the civil rights movement. From Mays' humble origins in Epworth, South Carolina, through his doctoral education, his work with institutions such as the National Urban League, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, and the national Young Men's Christian Association movement, and his significant career in academia, the author creates a portrait of the man, the teacher, and the scholar. The book is a portrayal of one man's faith, thought, and mentorship in bringing American apartheid to an end.