StoryCorps Atlanta: The Spirited Side Of Dr. Benjamin Mays
He was a minister, an activist and an educator; he presided over both Morehouse College and the Atlanta Board of Education. His name was Benjamin E. Mays, and Aug. 1 would have been his 122nd birthday.
He passed away in 1984 at the age of 89, but his legacy is all around us and lives on in the stories of those who knew him ─ including Cathy Loving, his assistant from 1980 until his death. At the Atlanta StoryBooth, she tells friend Elisa Woods some lighter memories about this historically distinguished man, beginning with an unexpected joke on her first day on the job.
This story was recorded in partnership with the Atlanta History Center, which hosts Atlanta’s StoryCorps booth.