BENJAMIN E. MAYS: THE ROLE OF CHARACTER IN THE PROLONGED STRUGGLE FOR AFRICAN AMERICAN CIVIL RIGHTS MILTON LAWLER Dissertation submitted to the faculty of the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy In Human Development Marcie Boucouvalas, Co-Chair Paul D. Renard, Co-Chair Clare D. Klunk Linda Morris December 7, 2011 Falls Church, VA Keywords: character, character strengths, civil rights, equality, inferior, segregation, virtue Copyright ©2011 by Milton Lawler BENJAMIN E. MAYS: THE ROLE OF CHARACTER IN THE PROLONGED STRUGGLE FOR AFRICAN AMERICAN CIVIL RIGHTS Milton Lawler ABSTRACT This study examined the life of Benjamin Elijah Mays, in terms of discerning his character strengths and the role they played in addressing equality issues during his lifetime and beyond. Character was defined by the analytic framework of Peterson and Seligman‘s Character Strengths and Virtues: A Handbook and Classification. An examination of Mays‘s written archived works as well as key secondary references served as data sources. Peterson and Seligman‘s Values In Action-Inventory of Strengths (derived from and based upon their classification scheme) was converted into if/then statements to identify Mays‘s character strengths and virtues associated with specific historical events. The historical context focused on the social setting/event of Jim Crow and legally sanctioned segregation. Addressed was how Mays‘s character assisted in bringing about the end of segregation in public venues, ushering in voting rights for all disenfranchised Americans, and his use of the church and academia to recruit champions for equality in worship and life. Mays undertook an 88 year journey toward equality, a journey that spanned second slavery, passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Voting Rights Act of 1965, implementation of and failure to enforce affirmative action plans, and 44 years as a leader in the fight against segregation. Despite the fact that both the United States Senate and the House of Representatives unanimously passed resolutions in 1983 and 2001(SRs 188 and 23; HRs 17 and 49, respectively) to award Mays the Presidential Medal of Freedom “in honor of his distinguished career as an educator, civil and human rights leader, and public theologian,” the Medal was denied by the Reagan and G.W. Bush administrations. The equality issues that existed during Mays‘s life continue to haunt American society, but Mays‘s importance to the continuing struggle for civil rights and the character strengths that he brought to this struggle are undeniable and provide fertile territory for future research. Dedication By the strength of my faith I dedicate this dissertation to my wife, Ora Lisbeth Lawler; my children, Danyel N. Jennings, Travis Wells, Leighla-Chanel E. Roper and her husband Dewayne A. Roper, Milton Frank Lawler, and Fortune Joshua Lawler; my grandchildren, Darrin D. Sutton, Michole-Chanee Allen, Cornelia Allen, Aaaqil Lateeff Abdullah-Jennings, Taaliyah Danyel Allen, Dewayne Andre‘ Roper Jr. (DJ), Amayah Elise Roper; my great granddaughters, Ruqayyah and Dhamira; my great grandson, Darrin Dhamir Sutton, Jr.; my mother, Earline Lawler, and my father, Jesse Frank Lawler; Kenneth F. Fortune and M. Cassandra Fortune (Father and Mother-in-law); finally to my brothers and sisters, grandparents, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, cousins, in-laws, family, friends, and church members. May my blessing be a blessing to you and to your children. May God‘s favor be with you forever and a day. iii Acknowledgements I am grateful to many people who encouraged me during my quest to become a scholar. Specifically, I acknowledge the support I received from my committee, present and past. They molded my scholarship and helped me to discover the uniqueness each member of the human race has to offer our communities. Marcie Boucouvalas, Co-Chair, spoke life into the different iterations of topics and foci. She gave me the ability to regain my voice, which I suppressed because I did not know how to communicate my message effectively. Marcie rekindled the correct level of militancy to serve my community, society-at-large, and our nation. Marcie also guided my writing to reflect the correct level of scholarship. For this, I am eternally grateful. Linda Morris helped take my level of understanding the abstract to a new dimension. The ―Red Herrings‖ are finally pickled. Co-Chair Paul Renard for the toughening of the ―egg shells‖ and the valuable time you spent reconstructing the dissertation and defense. Paul‘s reconstruction of the dissertation posed findings and recommendations in a scholarly sequence. Finally, to Clare Klunk who gave me a sense of accomplishment. Whether during her presentation, the mini-dissertation sessions, or the conference in North Carolina, she always steered me toward the big picture. Also to former committee member Elizabeth ―Liz‖ Roslewicz who reminded me that racism is still alive and well in the United States. Liz assisted me when I had to place people into their roles and race when telling their story. A special thank you to Michele Eldredge for being there to help me along the way. Michele, your son Ward‘s book and your insight into Draper Kauffman inspired me to move to the next level. Big thank you to Dr. Marilyn Lichtman, and Dr. Gabriella Belli for helping me overcome my fear of academia and guiding me down the path of scholarship. Also to Dr. Harold Stubblefield, who showed me how to focus on the historical events and discard the extraneous data that distracted from the historical context, as well as the insights from Dr. Albert Wiswell. Special thanks to Mr. Gerald Norwood who gave me a better appreciation of Booker T. Washington, which in turn gave me a greater revelation of Benjamin Elijah Mays and his struggle. Gerald also kept me on track so I could complete the process. He found rare artifacts that helped me paint a picture of the ―second slavery‖ landscape. A sincere debt of gratitude to the librarians and researchers at the Library of Congress, the Moorland-Spingarn Research Center, Virginia Tech‘s Northern Virginia Center, the Prince George‘s Memorial Library System‘s Oxon Hill Branch, and Prince George‘s Community College. They gave sight to blinded eyes, hearing to deaf ears, and a voice to a self-muted tongue. The librarian is truly the unsung hero of scholarly research. Finally, to TEAM MILTON, my support team, who stuck by me to the end. Their guidance, admonitions, and encouragement were the glue that kept the train on the track. iv Attribution Page Some of the concepts, premises, and future foci for research were adopted from conversations and revisions with Drs. Marcie Boucouvalas, Paul Renard, and Beverly Bunch-Lyons. Marcie challenged me to use the Peterson and Seligman‘s Character Strengths and Virtues: A Handbook and Classification to define character. Mays‘s character during his campaign to eliminate legally sanctioned segregation was the subject of the approved dissertation. Paul guided my research and helped me to mold it into a historical research. He articulated the tenor and the future foci for research. Beverly interpreted the premise of the dissertation, ―that if Mays had accepted concessions on segregation, the ramifications of his acceptance would have been significant, and may have diluted the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education Topeka decision, the 1964 Civil Rights Act, the 1965 Voting Rights Act, and affirmative action.‖ Also Clare Klunk and Linda Morris‘s advice helped shape the final document. I would be remiss if I did not give them credit for their scholarships permeate the dissertation. v Table of Contents Table of Contents Contents ABSTRACT ........................................................................................................................ ii Dedication .......................................................................................................................... iii Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................ iv Attribution Page .................................................................................................................. v Table of Contents ............................................................................................................... vi List of Tables ................................................................................................................... viii List of Figures .................................................................................................................... ix Understanding the Study ..................................................................................................... 1 Catalyst for My Scholarly Pursuit of Benjamin Elijah Mays: A Man of Good Character ......................................................................................................................................... 1 The Scholarly Beginning ................................................................................................ 3 Peterson and Seligman: The Lens .................................................................................. 4 Virtue and Character Strengths ................................................................................... 5 Situational Themes...................................................................................................... 7 Questions Guiding the Inquiry .......................................................................................