Born to Rebel: An Autobiography

by Benjamin Elijah Mays

Mays, Benjamin Elijah

Genres: Biography, African American, History, Nonfiction

380 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1971

Reviews

[robin friedman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Why We Can Still Believe In Heroes

Although my reading about Martin Luther King, Jr. had given me some knowledge about his teacher and friend Benjamin E. Mays (1894 -- 1984), Gary Dorrien's book "Breaking White Supremacy: Martin Luther King and the Black Social Gospel" (2018) prompted me to explore Mays in his own words. Dorrien's book explores the influence of the social gospel movement as practiced by African Americans as a crucial influence on King; and he sees Mays as a leading practitioner of the Black Social Gospel which taught a liberal theology and the need for social engagement on behalf of the poor, marginalized and dispossessed as an essential part of Christianity. Dorrien defines the key teachings of Black Social Gospel as follows (Dorrien, p. 3)

"The full-fledged black social gospel stood for social justice religion and modern critical consciousness. It combined an emphasis on black dignity and personhood with protest activism for racial justice, a comprehensive social justice agenda,, an insistence that authentic Christian faith is incompatible with racial prejudice, an emphasis on the social teaching of Jesus, and an acceptance of modern scholarship and social consciousness"

May's autobiography, written in 1970, nowhere uses the term "Black Social Gospel" , but Dorrien's characterization of the movement and its applicability to Mays is apparent throughout the book. Still, this work is more an autobiography that a theological exposition. It reading Mays' story of his own life, two themes stood out for me. The first theme was Mays' lifelong passion for education and his tireless efforts to study and to make himself somebody. With the many other inspiring things in this book, the love for knowledge and wisdom and the determination to acquire it under harsh circumstances stands out. The second overarching theme of the book was Mays as the "rebel" conducting a lifelong and sometimes lonely fight against the injustices of segregation. Mays shows his sometimes personal crusade against segregation in many scenes from his youth in rural South Carolina at the outset of jim crow, through the discrimination he experienced in towns and cities, including Chicago, through his refusal to ride jim crow elevators or street cars, through his experience being turned away at hotels and restaurants. When Mays became a successful leader and administrator, he wrote of his experience with discrimination world-wide, by observing in in India and other places and by again being subjected to it on international ships and in foreign hotels. In his long life, Mays saw many changes as the United States and the world wrestled with discrimination on the basis of race and color.

Mays' autobiography begins when, as a boy of five and the son of poor sharecroppers, he saw his father threatened by a group of terrorists in South Carolina. He refers to this scene many times in his book and it left an imprint on his life. Mays had to overcome the opposition of his father to receiving anything more than the bare rudiments of an education. Through determination, he left his farm and ultimately graduated from high school at the age of 21. He supported himself through menial labor including cleaning latrines. He was able to graduate with distinction from Bates College, Maine and enrolled in graduate school at the University of Chicago. With several absences and a variety of work experiences, Mays ultimately earned the PhD in religion from Chicago at the age of 37. He served for six years as the first Dean of the School of Religion at Howard University in Washington, D.C. and accomplished much in modernizing the school and established his reputation. Mays then served 27 years (1940 -- 1967) as the sixth president of Morehouse College, a historically black college in Atlanta. He and the school became famous under his administration. Among the students at Morehouse during Mays' tenure was a young Martin Luther King, Jr. The two became close friends, with Mays delivering the final benediction during the 1963 March on Washington and also delivering the eulogy upon King's death. The connection with King has tended to overshadow Mays' own formidable achievements. This autobiography allows the reader to see the broad scope of Mays' activities throughout most of his life. (After his retirement from Morehouse, Mays continued active as the president of the Atlanta School Board, a subject beyond the scope of the autobiography.)

This book includes more that Mays' story of his life. It includes a great deal of historical discussion of the American South, in particular, and of the course of segregation from the early 20th century to 1970. I learned a lot about the segregated society and its mores and impact on both African Americans and on whites from reading Mays' autobiography. In his youth, Mays distrusted all white people, especially southerners. As he continued his path towards education, he became more open and ecumenical in his views and had many close white friends from both the South and the North. Mays always remained a proponent of integration and of the humanity of all people rather than a proponent of separatism.

With its length and detail, the autobiography shows the public, extroverted side of Mays. It doesn't offer much in the way of his private character, his personal relationships with his two wives and his friends. It doesn't show much of his close one-on-one friendships with his students at Morehouse. In addition, while the book makes clear some of Mays' strong social and religious commitments, it doesn't discuss at any length his books and other writings. I wanted to know more about them.

This book includes a great deal of valuable material in addition to Mays' autobiography. The five appendices to the work offer a good basic overview of southern history following the end of Reconstruction and also various discussions of the Christian churches in America and their varying attitude towards racial prejudice. There is valuable documentation of efforts to address racial discrimination in the South by concerned white and black Southerners prior to the beginning of the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s. An appendix also includes the text of Mays' eulogy for Dr. King.

Mays had asked a white scholar of race relations, George Vernon Burton, to edit the autobiography and to write a Foreword in that Mays feared that white readers would be largely unaware of Mays' life. Burton's insightful Foreword to this book helps place the autobiography in context and adds a great deal. Burton concludes his Foreword with the following apt observation:

"Generations born since the Vietnam War have found it difficult to believe in heroes, but as we study the life of Benjamin Mays, we can see how individuals make a difference in history and why we can still believe in heroes."

Reading about Benjamin Mays shows that it is, indeed, still possible for our modern world to believe in heroes.

Robin Friedman

[Roger · Rating 2 out of 5]

A giant of a man and a fascinating subject. But, this autobiography fails to capture his magic, and impact on the world.

We needed more depth on his early influences, particularly John Hope, Howard Thurman, and Mordecai Johnson. And, I would have liked to have seen more on his time in Chicago. His relationship with Dr. King's father is yet another important area worthy of more significant treatment.

In a fantasy scenario, I would have liked to have seen Alex Haley write a biography. Haley's gift for narrative would have made the story of Dr. Mays a very compelling one for the general public.

[Muhammad · Rating 2 out of 5]

For me, this autobiography started better than it finished. It got a bit hard to finish around the middle because it was just boring. I guess being the President of a school isn't exacly an exciting profession.

Some of his perspectives were a bit typical of someone who grew up in this era and even though he may have saw himself as a rebel, he was really more of a conformist. Maybe more of a rebel in his early years but definitely by the time of the 60s and 70s, there really wasn't anything rebellious here. It's these type of statements that really bother me because these type persons "think" that certain movements have no value but they themselves don't have any alternative view that has or will produce any results:

"All programs thus far advanced by the Negro to free himself from domination and exploitation have been highly visionary and impractical. I simply do not see black nationalism, whether here or elsewhere, as a way out for the black man. Past failures of black nationalist movements do not necessarily mean that future efforts in this direction will also fail. I do believe, nevertheless, that any effort to establish a black nation for more than twenty million Negroes outside the United States, or through a combination of states within this country, is not going to succeed. I see no practical technique of achievement: of securing sufficient funds; of establishing the necessary unanimity among Negroes; of persuading state governments to turn over certain states to Negroes. To dream of black nationalism— whether Garvey's, the Black Muslims, or some other's—is little more than a mirage."

This is what the older generation thought of actual rebellious movements and maybe with their actual assistance to make the mirage a reality, it oculd have actually been a reality. I wonder if anyone in the Zionist movement thought that their dream of a home state was a mirage that wouldn't come into reality? Or did they all go to work together to make it a reality? In the same book he takes time to praise and talk about Ghandi whom he wanted to meet with and was impressed by. Ghandi who was an Indian Nationalist. Was their nationalism "highly visionary and impractial"? Or is it just so when it comes to black people?

Nationalism is defined as “a political creed that underlies the cohesion of modern societies and legitimizes their claim to authority. Nationalism centers the supreme loyalty of the overwhelming majority of the people upon the nation-state, either existing or desired. The nation-state is regarded not only as the ideal, ‘natural’, or ‘normal’ form of political organization but also as the indispensable framework for all social, cultural and economic activities”.

Gandhi wrote in ‘Young India’, June 18, 1925, that ‘It is no nationalism that is evil; it is the narrowness, selfishness, exclusiveness which is the bane of modern nations which is evil’. Explaining again (add) in detail in ‘Young India’ of September 10, 1925, Gandhi wrote that ‘Illustrations are taken from recent wars and administration of law in civilized societies to prove that hatred seems to be of the essence of nationalism. Nevertheless, it is the grossest of delusions.’ Nationalism is the dominant feature of the political thinking of Gandhi.

Maybe that's why the Indians have come into the very same country where our so-called black leaders and thinkers who have opposed nationalism and dominated almost to the point of excluding our experience before they even got here.
(stoppped here)
"Because Negroes were discriminated against in the United States, Oriental students at the university looked upon them as America's "untouchables" and sought to avoid them. Negro students were convinced that Indian students wore their turbans to make sure that they would not be mistaken for Negroes. In those days, a Negro wearing a turban could ride through the South unsegregated and unmolested. All foreign colored peoples (except Africans) fared better in travel. They could ride unsegregated." Chicago to Orangeburg to Tampa, Ben Mayes

Here’s Haley’s response, in full:

“I will tell you, when you look at the Declaration of Independence, it was that ‘men are created equal’ with unalienable rights, right? That is what we all knew.

But what I look at it as, is I was a brown girl that grew up in a small rural town. We had plenty of racism that we had to deal with. But my parents never said we lived in a racist country. And I’m so thankful that they didn’t.

Because for every brown and Black child out there, if you tell them they live or born in a racist country, you’re immediately telling them they don’t have a chance. And my parents would always say, ‘You may have challenges. And yes, there will be people who are racist. But that doesn’t define what you can do in this country.’ And so, I think it is important that we tell all kids that, ‘Look, America is not perfect, we have our stains, we know that, but our goal should always be to make today better than yesterday. It’s hugely important.

And that’s the problem that I have. We have too many people with this national self-loathing – it is killing our country. We have got to go back to loving America.

We are blessed because that little brown girl in that small, rural town in South Carolina, she grew up to become the first female minority governor in history. She then went on to become UN Ambassador and now she’s running for president of the United States. I want every brown and Black child to see that and say, ‘No, I don’t live in a country that was formed on racism. I live in a country where they wanted all people to be equal. And to make sure that they have life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.’”

Source: https://www.cnn.com/2024/01/19/politi... - January 19, 2024

At a town hall in Pella, Iowa, on Friday, 2024 GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy declared “our diversity is not our strength,” compared a Black congresswoman to the Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan and compared the existence of white supremacy in the United States to that of unicorns.

“I'm sure the boogeyman white supremacist exists somewhere in America. I've just never met him. Never seen one, never met one in my life, right?” Ramaswamy said at a lunch hosted by the local county’s Republican Party. “Maybe I'll meet a unicorn sooner. And maybe those exist, too.”

Barely 24 hours later, a white gunman armed with a handgun and an AR-15 adorned with swastikas entered a dollar store in Jacksonville, Florida, and killed three Black people before taking his own life.


"When the intercity buses started operating, the travel situation worsened. The bus driver was armed. Negroes were required to seat themselves at the rear of the bus. White passengers could sit wherever they chose, except in the very last row. More than once, I saw bus drivers refuse to permit Negro passengers to board the bus until all white passengers with tickets had gotten on. If all seats were taken, Negro passengers had to wait for the next bus whether it was due in a few hours or the next day. It mattered not to the bus company. Two or three experiences of "equality" as interpreted by the bus companies in Atlanta in 1921 sufficed—no more bus rides for me! At least on the train Negro passengers were not left to take the next train; and when a Negro went to the segregated train he could get on. But when the bus driver would not allow any Negro to get on until every white person had secured a seat, he strutted around with his pistol on his hip, and several times Negroes were beaten, shot, or arrested when they protested. Although no law gave the conductor and the butcher authority to use four seats each as "office" in the segregated Negro coach on the train, and no law gave a white bus driver authority to keep Negroes off the bus until whites were on and seated, such was the universal practice in the South. They did it, and they got away with it. Protesting to the train and bus companies evoked no response. Status made no difference. Black doctors, professors, businessmen, ministers—all felt the scourge of discrimination and segregation in travel just as did the black butler, maid, cook, and janitor. All Negroes were equal and equally inferior, so far as the white man's law was concerned.

When I came to Atlanta in 1921, and for a long time afterward, I always knew that when I went to downtown stores I stood more than a fifty-fifty chance of being insulted as soon as I entered. Before my hair became obviously white, I was greeted as "boy." "What do you want, boy" "What can I do for you, boy?" When I became prematurely gray, I was called "Uncle" or "George" or "John." Anything to be offensive. How could one fail to resent such terms, knowing that they were meant as a denial of his manhood?" Atlanta 1921 - 1924, Benjamin E. Mayes

"But the phrase "black power," accompanied by the "clenched fist," is nothing more than a futile gesture unless it is filled with meaning and designed to develop a program to achieve for the black man that economic, political, and educational power which will enable him to bargain from a position of strength. I see nothing wrong with black power as used in Atlanta, in October, 1969, when Negroes gave Maynard Johnson, a black man, 90 percent of their votes which, combined with a sizable white vote, made him an easy winner in the race for vice-mayor.""

More of the vote your way into power rhetoric. From 1969 to 2024, those of us who are still here; how exactly has that phiolosphy worked out for us? Again, he thinks the rebellious way would not work but doesn't offer any alternative view or something that would.

"Finally, if the governments, private businesses, schools, churches, individuals, and the American people have the will, they can contribute to the solution of this problem. We can, within a ten-year span, provide decent housing for every family, make adequate jobs available for every able-bodied person, provide the kind of education that each child is able to absorb, make accessible medical care for all, abolish poverty and malnutrition, and permit each man to advance on his merit without his being penalized because he is black.

President John F. Kennedy could predict that in ten years we would place a man on the moon, and his prophecy came true. President Nixon asserted that we could fly to Mars in ten years or more. If we can set a timetable to get to the moon and to Mars—and meet it—God knows we can set a timetable to build a more just society. It's a matter of national will and commitment. It is also a matter of individual responsibility. If these things are not done, I predict that there will be terrifying days ahead in the ' 'land of the free and the home of the brave.""

Here Dr. Mays is your error. There is no will to create a better world IF there is no profit to be made so goes capitalism. You gave a time table of 10 years. Here we are almost 50 years later and still no solution to the "black man's" problem or the world problems at large. Where's the rebel spirit in this? Maybe I was just thinking that he had some actual radical thought that would intrigue me, but instead this same "your idea won't work, but mine definitely won't because I really don't have any original ideas" thought process just bored me.

[Mark Rondeau · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent book by the former president of Morehouse College, mentor of Martin Luther King. I actually read a different edition of this book. Born in South Carolina in the 1890s, Benjamin Mays faced hateful discrimination for most of his life. Yet, his drive to excel, his great intellect and unshakeable integrity saw him through. Until reading this book, I did not fully understand the extent to which blacks were able to hold political office in the former confederacy during the Reconstruction period, only to have harsh and brutal repression once protection from the federal government ended. Then came Jim Crow, the glorification of the Confederacy etc. As noted, Mays was a remarkable man. Worked his way through Bates college in Maine and then through graduate degrees at the University of Chicago. Worked for the Urban League in Tampa, revitalized the religion program at Howard University, and severed as Morehouse's president for 36 years. Never really retired and chaired the Atlanta school board in the late 1960s and 1970s. Gave the eulogy for MLK in 1968. Well worth reading.

[David L Carpenter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book, should be required reading in High SchoolA Mercy

[David]

Admittedly only read select portions of this but Mr. Mays was a force of nature and a force for justice, mutual liberation, and truth. It’s hard to understate the impact his courage to stand for freedom had on this country—inspiring and teaching such folks like Howard Thurman, James Cone, MLK Jr. Hard to believe I was unfamiliar with him before picking this up for a seminar. Will be reading the rest of this soon.

[Rafael Suleiman · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very good autobiography of Dr. Benjamin Elijah Mays.

[Rodney · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating read about a very important person who is not known in large public circles when it comes to civil rights and his influence on many of our greatest thought leaders. I would recommend this book to anyone who has interest in personal growth and helping to push critical thought amongst our fellow mankind.