Born to Rebel, Driven to Excel
Horry County Museum 805 Main Street, Conway, SC, United StatesThe 2020 Horry County Museum Documentary Film Series continues with Born to Rebel, Driven to Excel. Part of the Carolina Stories Series by SCETV, this 30 minute film biography tells the story of South Carolinian, Dr. Benjamin Mays.
Benjamin Mays, from Epworth, South Carolina, saw the racism and forced segregation of life around him and decided to challenge it with education and religion. Against the advice of his father, Mays pursued a formal education and rose to the top of his class, becoming Dean of Religion at Howard University, and later earned a Doctor of Philosophy from the University of Chicago. He would become president of Morehouse College in 1940, and his influence on civil rights and education for the next three decades would reach far and wide. He met with Mahatma Gandhi, led Atlanta’s desegregation effort, and convinced Gone with the Wind author Margaret Mitchell to (secretly) sponsor students. He was mentor and spiritual father to Martin Luther King, Jr., who credited him as his inspiration for entering the ministry. King selected Mays to give his eulogy in the event of his death, a task Mays would fulfill. Interviewees include Andrew Young, Hank Aaron, Mays’ great niece Dr. Marshalyn Yeargin-Allsopp, and Dr. Robert Franklin.