THE EDUCATIONAL THOUGHT OF BENJAMIN ELIJAH MAYS by ROBERT WILLIAM GAINES, II (Under the Direction of William G. Wraga) ABSTRACT Benjamin Elijah Mays, most widely known as a former president of Morehouse College, was one of the foremost African American educators of the 20th century. Although an accomplished theologian and civil rights activist, Mays dedicated the greater part of his career to combating racial segregation and securing high quality educational opportunities for black students. Although Mays’s thinking on education has been a point of exploration in extant scholarship, a systematic and comprehensive study of his educational thought remains necessary. This study seeks to document and explain Mays’s educational thought, focusing primarily on his 60-year career as an educator, including his early years as an instructor at Morehouse College, his six-year tenure as the dean of school of theology at Howard University, his twenty- seven-year tenure as president of Morehouse, and his twelve-year tenure as a member of the Atlanta School Board. It elucidates the ways in which Mays’s upbringing in the Jim Crow South, and his perception of Christianity, democracy, and social responsibility shaped his thinking on education. This study employs historical research methods as a means to contextualize Mays’s life experiences and their influence on his educational thinking, as well as a way to situate his publications and speeches in the larger educational and historical discourses of his time. Further, it explores the legacy of May’s educational thinking and its implications for current educational practice. The meaning of Mays’s views on education in today’s educational landscape transcends the current obsession with standardized testing and highlights the imperative of holistic educational practice, the importance of balancing intellect and character. INDEX WORDS: Benjamin E. Mays; Morehouse College; Atlanta Public Schools; Desegregation; African American Education; Democracy; Christianity; Social Responsibility THE EDUCATIONAL THOUGHT OF BENJAMIN ELIJAH MAYS by ROBERT WILLIAM GAINES, II B.A., Morehouse College, 2006 M.A., The Pennsylvania State University, 2008 A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the University of Georgia in Partial Fulfillment Of the Requirements for the Degree DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY ATHENS, GEORGIA 2012 © 2012 Robert William Gaines, II All Rights Reserved THE EDUCATIONAL THOUGHT OF BENJAMIN ELIJAH MAYS by ROBERT WILLIAM GAINES, II Major Professor: William G. Wraga Committee: Elizabeth DeBray-Pelot Sally J. Zepeda Derrick P. Alridge Electronic Version Approved: Maureen Grasso Dean of the Graduate School The University of Georgia August 2012 iv DEDICATION First, I would like to dedicate this dissertation to God. Your grace, love, and mercy gave me joy and peace over these last four years. Thank you for being with me and counseling me throughout the dissertation writing process. To my wife and best friend Alex, who shared with me the highs and lows of the last four years and managed to remain a constant source of strength and support, I love you and am forever indebted to you. To my parents, who always encouraged and willingly financed my scholarly endeavors, from academic camps during the summers to last minute airfare to South America across the world, I love you. To my friends who have held me up, prayed for me, and spoken life into me, the road would have been much longer and difficult without you. Thank you all for your support. v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First, I would like to thank my professors at the University of Georgia. Each of you has played an integral part in my development over these last four years. In particular, I would like to thank Dr. Sheneka Williams for her support and mentorship and Drs. Sally Zepeda and Elizabeth DeBray-Pelot for their encouragement with regards to writing and service as committee members. I would also like to thank Dr. Delores Stephens at Morehouse College for being an amazing mentor and stickler for sound prose, as well as Dr. Derrick Alridge at the University of Virginia for his mentorship and for suggesting that I write my dissertation on Benjamin Mays. Lastly, I would like to thank Ms. Elaine Ardia at the Muskie Archives at Bates College, and Ms. Joellen ElBashir, Dr. Ida Jones, and Mr. Richard Jenkins in the Manuscript Division team at Howard University’s Moorland Spingarn Research Center. This study would have been impossible without all of you. Most importantly, I would like to thank Dr. William G. Wraga for serving as my major professor and for remaining committed to my development as a scholar. Whatever obstacles I have faced during this writing process, Dr. Wraga has always made sure I was equipped to overcome them. His patience, honesty, and dedication to seeing me do my best work have carried me along this journey and inspired me to always strive for excellence. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ........................................................................................................v CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION ...............................................................................................1 Literature Review.....................................................................................4 Statement of Purpose..............................................................................10 Research Questions ................................................................................11 Methods .................................................................................................11 Data Sources ..........................................................................................15 Assumptions...........................................................................................17 Scope of Study.......................................................................................18 Limitations of the Study .........................................................................18 Organization of the Report .....................................................................19 2 MAYS’S EARLY LIFE AND EDUCATION ....................................................21 Historical Context ..................................................................................21 Mays’s Early Years: The Farm, the School, and the Church ...................30 High School at State College of South Carolina......................................34 A Freshman at Virginia Union University ..............................................38 Bates College: Realizing a Dream ..........................................................42 Graduate School at the University of Chicago ........................................51 Summary................................................................................................56 vii 3 EARLY YEARS AS A PROFESSIONAL EDUCATOR ...................................61 Historical Context ..................................................................................61 Career Beginnings at Howard University................................................63 The Necessity of Religious Literacy.......................................................65 Mays at Morehouse ................................................................................71 The Elements of a Postwar Philosophy of Education ..............................73 Mays’s Scholarly Writings .....................................................................89 Du Bois and the Black College...............................................................97 The Pittsburgh Courier...........................................................................98 Post-War Challenges in Education........................................................100 Segregation in Higher Education..........................................................102 In Opposition to Regional Education....................................................107 In Defense of Black Colleges and Universities .....................................114 The Value of a College Education ........................................................118 The Perils of College Athletics.............................................................120 Summary..............................................................................................124 4 THE MOREHOUSE YEARS ..........................................................................125 Historical Context ................................................................................125 Segregation in K-12 Education.............................................................132 Bond on the Morale of Black Youth.....................................................136 Toward School Funding Equalization...................................................138 Brown v. Board of Education ...............................................................143 Segregation after Brown v. Board.........................................................151 Paying for College................................................................................157 viii Black Students’ Reading Habits ...........................................................158 The Qualities of a Good College...........................................................160 Mays on Teachers ................................................................................163 Mays and the Purpose of Education......................................................175 Education During the 1960s .................................................................178