Benjamin Mays Accomplishments

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Benjamin Mays is known all around the world as the man that influenced Martin Luther King Jr. He was, indeed, the push that gave King his confidence to go against the black problems, but was so much more than that. He was a dear son, brother, husband, and friend. Born on August 1, 1894/95, Ben was born to former slaves and tenant farmers as the youngest son of eight in South Carolina. At a young age, Ben was always searching for ways and things to learn. It didn’t matter if it was almost impossible for him, he did it anyway. He refused to be limited by the widespread poverty and racism of his place of birth. He wanted to learn, and that’s what he did. When he grew older, he struggled to get into Bates College in Maine. In 1920, he completed his B.A. and decided to attend the University of Chicago. 5 years later, he graduated school with an M.A. and a Ph.D. in the School of Religion in 1935. All through his school years, he also taught as a teacher at Morehouse College, and at a school in South Carolina. However, Morehouse was what impacted him the most. Reason …show more content…

But his biggest achievement, was love. He met his wife of forty-three years, Sadie Grey, at the South Carolina State College. The only thing that separated them was Sadie’s death in 1969. His work for the Urban League and the YMCA similarly postponed his doctoral efforts. Then, Mays went on to publish many books in his lifetime. In conclusion, Benjamin Mays was a very important key in the future we live now. He was the one that gave King the push he needed in order to bring justice to all races of Americans. If not for Mays, I highly doubt that King would have done as much as he had. Not only was Mays the big influence King had, but he was also a big political figure that stood with King, even after his death. Mays took King’s lectures and ran with it, and was able to become a big historical

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