Benjamin Mays Historic Site - Greenwood, South Carolina

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Anticipating the Benjamin Mays Historic Site.  Benjamin Elijah Mays was born in the small town of Epworth in August of 1894. His parents were both former slaves, and his first memory was of a white mob coming to his family's home and forcing his father to bow before them. This terrible incident, forever ingrained into his mind, helped to shape the man the Benjamin Mays would become.

The group of men who assaulted his father was part of the Phoenix Riots, and because Benjamin grew up in an environment that promoted segregation and hatred, he vowed that he wanted to make a difference in the African American community.

In 1916, he graduated from high school as a valedictorian, and attended Bates College in Lewiston, Maine to further his education. He graduated with honors in 1920. Wanting to do more with his education, he attended the University of Chicago and received his Master's degree in 1925. He became a professor at Howard University, and then gained his doctorate (in philosophy) from the University of Chicago.

He later became president of Morehouse College, where he increased enrollment and the environment for the students. He was also the spiritual and emotional mentor to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Mays died in 1984 at the age of 89.

Benjamin Mays was a key figure in the promotion of equality and civil rights, and his childhood home is one of the most important places in all of South Carolina, especially when it comes to African American civil rights.

Great efforts are currently underway to preserve as much of this man's history as possible. The Dr. Benjamin Mays Historical Site will have many buildings and artifacts associated with his life.

The site will contain an original single room schoolhouse used by African Americans when Mays himself was a child. Visitors will also be able to visit the interpretive center, which will contain documents and artifacts from his life. Perhaps the most important building in the collection will be the actual house where Mays spent his childhood.

His father stood in front of this very house in front of when Benjamin was just a child and bowed to the mob so his family would not be hurt. This important place holds some very dark memories, and it is very moving to know that such an important and compassionate man emerged from such humble beginnings.

Visitors to the historic site will be able to learn about many of the different civil rights leaders and important events in African American history.