Benjamin Mays
Awards & Honours
1
Awards Won
4
Honours
3
Records
Benjamin Mays's achievements are remarkable not just for their breadth but for their depth. He led Morehouse College for 27 years, transforming it into a launching pad for Black excellence. He personally mentored Martin Luther King Jr., who called him his spiritual father, and he shaped the intellectual foundations of the civil rights movement. Mays's influence extended to countless students and leaders, and his commitment to nonviolent resistance, inspired by Gandhi, helped define the movement's strategy. His legacy lives on through the Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship and the many institutions that bear his name, ensuring that his impact continues to be felt.
Awards
Honours & Distinctions
Spingarn Medal
Highest honor from the NAACP for his contributions to civil rights and education.
48 Honorary Degrees
Received honorary doctorates from institutions across the United States.
Distinguished Service Award
Awarded for his distinguished career in education and civil rights.
Benjamin E. Mays National Memorial
Entombed on the Morehouse campus with his wife, serving as a national memorial.
Records & Feats
One of the first Black Americans to earn a PhD from the University of Chicago
Earned his doctorate in 1935, becoming one of the first Black Americans to do so.
First Black president of the Atlanta Board of Education
Served from 1969 to 1978, initiating desegregation of Atlanta's public schools.
Delivered benediction at the March on Washington
Spoke immediately after Martin Luther King Jr.'s 'I Have a Dream' speech in 1963.