Bill Text: SC H4106 | 2011-2012 | 119th General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Dr. Benjamin E. Mays
Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Republican 76-48)
Status: (Passed) 2011-04-14 - Introduced, adopted, returned with concurrence [H4106 Detail]
Download: South_Carolina-2011-H4106-Introduced.html
A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
TO RECOGNIZE AND COMMEND THE DR. BENJAMIN E. MAYS HISTORIC PRESERVATION SITE IN GREENWOOD COUNTY, AND TO CONGRATULATE THE BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS OF THE GLEAMNS HUMAN RESOURCE COMPLEX, UPON THE WONDERFUL OCCASION OF THE DEDICATION OF THIS INSPIRING HISTORIC SITE.
Whereas, the members of the South Carolina General Assembly are pleased to learn that the Dr. Benjamin E. Mays Historic Preservation Site will celebrate its dedication on Tuesday, April 26, 2011; and
Whereas, the project to restore the Benjamin E. Mays home was begun in 2002 with the relocation of his childhood home to the complex and continued when the late 1800, one-room Burns Springs African-American School was also relocated; and
Whereas, with the addition to the complex of the Benjamin E. Mays Museum Interpretive Center, the summertime garden of corn, tomatoes, okra, butterbeans, cantaloupe, and cucumbers, and a cotton field, the project was completed in 2010; and
Whereas, by highlighting Dr. Mays' contribution to the dialogue about education and race in the United States, the site is a focal point of understanding the struggle for civil rights in the American South; and
Whereas, born in Epworth in August 1894 and the son of former slaves, Benjamin Elijah Mays was raised on his family's tenant farm, but he left home for Orangeburg to attend high school at South Carolina State College where he was the valedictorian of the class of 1916; and
Whereas, he journeyed to Lewiston, Maine, to attend Bates College, graduating with honors in 1920, and after he earned a master's degree from the University of Chicago in 1925, he taught at Howard University until he earned a doctor of philosophy in religion, also from the University of Chicago; and
Whereas, in 1940, he became president of Morehouse College, a post he held for twenty-seven years, and during his tenure, he established a Phi Beta Kappa chapter at the institution, increased the number of faculty members holding doctorates, and increased student enrollment; and
Whereas, he helped to shape the face of the civil rights movement in the United States as a spiritual and emotional mentor to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and as an advisor to presidents Kennedy, Johnson, and Carter; and
Whereas, at the dedication of this significant historic site, former United States Ambassador Andrew Young will give the keynote address, and the renowned Morehouse College Glee Club will perform special music; and
Whereas, the members of the South Carolina General Assembly are grateful for the lasting legacy of Dr. Benjamin Elijah Mays, an outstanding son of the Palmetto State, and appreciate the efforts that have established the Dr. Benjamin E. Mays Historic Preservation Site. Now, therefore,
Be it resolved by the House of Representatives, the Senate concurring:
That the members of the South Carolina General Assembly, by this resolution, recognize and commend the Dr. Benjamin E. Mays Historic Preservation Site in Greenwood County, and congratulate the board of commissioners of the GLEAMNS Human Resource Complex, upon the wonderful occasion of the dedication of this inspiring historic site.
Be it further resolved that a copy of this resolution be presented to Dr. Joseph D. Patton III, executive director and CEO of the GLEAMNS Human Resource Complex.
