Born to Rebel, Driven to Excel
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Horry County Museum 805 Main Street , Conway, South Carolina 29526
The 2023 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.
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 became president of Morehouse College in 1940 and his influence on civil rights and education for the next three decades reached 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 fulfilled. Interviewees include Andrew Young, Hank Aaron, Mays’ great niece Dr. Marshalyn Yeargin-Allsopp and Dr. Robert Franklin.
The film is free to the public and will be shown at 1 p.m., Wednesday, Nov. 15, at the Horry County Museum, located at 805 Main Street in Conway.
The Horry County Museum Documentary Film Matinees will continue throughout 2023. For more information, call the Horry County Museum at (843) 915-5320 or e-mail hcg.museum@horrycountysc.gov.
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