The Music Plays On. Thank You, Dr. Mays.
It was an everlasting gift to become a young student of the great Dr. Benjamin Elijah Mays (1894 – 1984). I share this gift with many thousands of others, including Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., who called Dr. Mays his spiritual mentor and intellectual father.
As scripture instructs us, ‘to whom much has been given, much will be required.’ Knowing the enormity of my gift, I have spent my life trying to pay forward this man’s wisdom to my children and others. We should all keep Dr. Mays’ words and influence alive for today’s youth and young adults – for they are the future of our families, communities, country and world.
“It must be borne in mind that the tragedy of life doesn’t lie in not reaching your goal. The tragedy lies in having no goal to reach. It isn’t a calamity to die with dreams unfulfilled, but it is a calamity not to dream. It is not a disaster to be unable to capture your ideal, but it is a disaster to have no ideal to capture. It is not a disgrace not to reach the stars, but it is a disgrace to have no stars to reach for. Not failure, but low aim is sin.”
– Dr. Benjamin E. Mays
The remarkable life of an American icon
Benjamin Mays is a significant figure in U.S. history, credited with laying the intellectual foundations of the Civil Rights Movement. He was born in a small South Carolina town to parents who were born into slavery and freed at the end of the Civil War. Young “Bennie” had an insatiable thirst for education and his dreams led him far from the family farm.
During his life, he earned master’s and doctorate degrees, was ordained into the Baptist ministry, and received 56 honorary degrees, including nearly 30 doctorates. He was dean of the Howard University School of Religion, president of Morehouse College and president of the Atlanta Board of Education. Hundreds of streets, buildings, awards, scholarships, grants and fellowships have been named in his honor. (Photo of Dr. Benjamin Mays courtesy of Carrie M. Dumas and Julie Hunter - Public Domain)
Dr. Mays had influencers during his life, from the teachings of Mahatma Gandhi to one of his high school teachers, the latter of whom inspired young Benjamin to set his sights on the University of Chicago for graduate study. I identify with this piece of history because a similar high school experience is what led me into Dr. Mays’ extraordinary universe.
The day the music died
My parents bought me a cornet when I was in the sixth grade. I dedicated myself to it, determined to make the high school band in a few years. When that goal became a reality, I took up more instruments – baritone horn, tuba, and because my brother showed no interest in his clarinet, I taught myself to play that, too. By now, I saw music as a way to go to college.
Ultimately, I was offered three music scholarships. And then destiny intervened. My high school counselor, Mrs. Cohen, looked at my transcript and said, “Have you ever considered going to Morehouse College?” I was taken aback. Although I was an honor roll student, no, I had never thought of myself as a candidate for this historically black men's college under the leadership of the renowned Dr. Benjamin Mays.
Two days later, Mrs. Cohen said, “I got you into Morehouse with a scholarship.” I was stunned. It was an academic scholarship, and although I decided to let music go, the decision would forever change my world. The music never really died. I just had new sheet music for the road ahead!
The years went by in minutes, it seems
My first in-person exposure to Dr. Mays was in the fall of 1966. I was a constantly mesmerized student in his last freshman class as president of Morehouse. Dr. Mays retired the following June after serving as president of the college for 27 legendary years.
It was many years later when I had my first one-on-one encounter with him, just him and me. I was an alum, and he was serving as president of the Atlanta Board of Education. We had attended the same event on this magical evening. He was no longer driving, and it became my honor and cherished memory to take him home. As I drove, his voice filled the air, as did the profound impact of his life on mine.
There was a way Dr. Mays talked, how he used his voice, the way he emphasized words. It sent chills through me and transported me back to freshman chapel at Morehouse where he recited the words that would impact my family and me for generations to come:
God’s Minute
I've only just a minute
Only sixty seconds in it
Forced upon me, can't refuse it
Didn't seek it, didn't choose it
But it's up to me to use it
I must suffer if I lose it
Give an account if I abuse it
Just a tiny little minute
But eternity is in it
All of the academic excellence and life wisdom Dr. Mays imparted to people of all ages, races and creeds, and everything he stood and fought for throughout his life are wrapped up in those words.
I taught God’s Minute to my children when they were young. Like me, they have never forgotten it. My second grandchild was born just last month, and I will teach it to both of them – along with many other words and teachings of this giant among men.
In this photo are four generations of Kelley’s! I’m in the middle holding my precious new granddaughter. My 97-year-old father is on the left. My son and proud new father is on the right. My beautiful and incredibly talented daughter and first granddaughter, not pictured, are also the lights of my life.
The years really do go by in minutes, and I can say with total conviction that I would not be the blessed man I am today if not for the influence of Dr. Mays.
“Man is what his dreams are”
That is another of Dr. Mays’ many memorable quotes. History immortalized a dream of one of his students – a dream to make real the promises of democracy in the United States of America. In the book “Born to Rebel,” Dr. Mays said, “Since Martin Luther King, Jr.'s death, several persons, especially those seeking data for an article or book, have asked me whether I knew in what way I was influencing his life. The answer is an unqualified 'No.' There is no way one can know the degree of influence one has upon another.”
None of us know how much impact we will have on others – in a moment, an hour or a lifetime. We simply must use our minutes wisely and take every opportunity we can to instill the words of great men and women into the hearts and minds of our youth – to encourage their dreams and aspirations.
This is also one my favorite quotes from Dr. Mays:
“Whatever you do, strive to do it so well that no man living and no man dead and no man yet to be born could do it any better.”
His 89 years of life remain a magnificent example of how he did exactly that and inspired others to do the same.
At Morehouse, Dr. Mays always addressed students as “Young man” or “Mr. Kelley” or “Mr. Smith” – it was the culture and he was our once-in-a-lifetime teacher and visionary. Cultures change but he never did.
When he got out of my car the night I drove him home, he said with such warmth and depth that I nearly cried: “Mr. Kelley, thank you so much.”
No, Dr. Mays. Thank you.
