Name: "It Is a Calamity not to Dream: Life Lessons from Dr. Benjamin E. Mays” by Dr. Kevin Witherspoon
Start: 2026-04-07T17:30:00-04:00
End: 2026-04-07T19:00:00-04:00
Location: The Arts Center of Greenwood

$"It Is a Calamity not to Dream: Life Lessons from Dr. Benjamin E. Mays\u201d by Dr. Kevin Witherspoon$

Lander University Community Lecture Series: “It Is a Calamity not to Dream’: Life Lessons from the Words of Dr. Benjamin E. Mays” by Dr. Kevin Witherspoon
Date: Tuesday, April 7
Time: 5:30 - 7:00 pm (refreshments and libations available @ 5:30 pm, lecture begins @ 6:00 pm)
Address: The Arts Center of Greenwood, 120 Main Street, Greenwood, SC 29646
Admission: FREE & OPEN TO THE COMMUNITY
Description: Dr. Benjamin Elijah Mays is one of the most important people to come from South Carolina. Born in the community of Epworth, near present-day Greenwood, SC, in 1894, Mays overcame immense challenges to rise from the humble origins of life as a black sharecropper in the Jim Crow South to an astonishing career as a teacher, college administrator, preacher, speaker, writer, and activist (among many other achievements!). Mays is best known for his time as President of Morehouse College from 1940-1967, when he served as the mentor to hundreds of students, most notably Martin Luther King, Jr. His students and others in his life attest to the life-altering influence he exerted on their lives, and especially how they were riveted by his Tuesday Chapel services and other teachings. But what exactly did he tell his students? Why was he such an inspirational figure? Based on a careful reading of Dr. Mays’ weekly editorials, “My View,” and Mays’ other writings and speeches, this talk will identify a number of core themes and ideas that we can apply in our own lives today.
Biography: Kevin B. Witherspoon is the Dr. Benjamin E. Mays Endowed Chair in the Department of History & Philosophy at Lander University. He is the author of many articles, chapters, and books, most of which focus on the intersection of race, culture, and sport in the Cold War. Each spring, he teaches a course about Benjamin Mays and the Civil Rights Struggle, and he has enjoyed taking students (and many local teachers!) on field trips to the Benjamin Mays Historical Preservation Site, and also on trips to historic sites in Atlanta, Birmingham, Montgomery, Selma, and more.
Event Contact: [email protected], 864.388.7800 / Mark Rollins, [email protected]