A Biography
In this biography of Benjamin Mays
(1894-1984), Randal Maurice Jelks chronicles the life of the man Martin
Luther King Jr. called his "spiritual and intellectual father."
Dean of the Howard University School of Religion, president of
Morehouse College, and mentor to influential black leaders, Mays had a
profound impact on the education of the leadership of the black church
and of a generation of activists, policymakers, and educators. Jelks
argues that Mays's ability to connect the message of Christianity with
the responsibility to challenge injustice prepared the black church for
its pivotal role in the civil rights movement.
From Mays's
humble origins in Epworth, South Carolina, through his doctoral
education, his work with institutions such as the National Urban League,
the NAACP, and the national YMCA movement, and his significant career
in academia, Jelks creates a rich portrait of the man, the teacher, and
the scholar. Benjamin Elijah Mays, Schoolmaster of the Movement is a powerful portrayal of one man’s faith, thought, and mentorship in bringing American apartheid to an end.
About the Author
Reviews
“Jelks helps to bring the “religious dimension” back to the center of the conversation.”
--History News Network
--History News Network
“A civil rights pioneer gets his due.”
--Kansas City Star
“Jelks should be applauded for depicting twentieth-century
race relations through the eyes of Benjamin Elijah Mays. . .[In doing
so] he provides readers with a new perspective on the fight for civil
rights.”
--North Carolina Historical Review
--North Carolina Historical Review
"A compelling biography of one of the most significant
leaders in the struggle for African American civil rights in
twentieth-century America. . . . An important contribution to better
understand the critical role of black colleges and their presidents
during the civil rights era."
--Journal of American History
--Journal of American History
"Jelks uses Benjamin Mays as a lens through which to view
the institutions, ideas, and personalities that sustained black thinkers
and theologians during decades of struggle. This book is essential in
filling out the picture of African American intellectual and cultural
life through much of the twentieth century."
--Paul Harvey, University of Colorado at Colorado Springs
--Paul Harvey, University of Colorado at Colorado Springs
"Jelks demonstrates how this spiritual and intellectual
giant reinvigorated the country’s religious faith and brought it to bear
on contemporary problems. This compelling assessment of Mays is a
powerful and moving tribute and will be taken seriously by scholars and
public alike."
--Orville Vernon Burton, author The Age of Lincoln
--Orville Vernon Burton, author The Age of Lincoln
Join us for the 2013 Lillian Smith Book Awards Ceremony
During the Decatur Book Festival
September 1, 2013
September 1, 2013
No comments:
Post a Comment