Georgia State University to Host 37th Annual Benjamin E. Mays Lecture on Feb. 25

ATLANTA—Georgia State University’s Alonzo A. Crim Center for Urban Educational Excellence will host its 37^th Annual Benjamin E. Mays Lecture on Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2026, at 5:30 p.m. in the university’s Centennial Hall Auditorium (100 Auburn Ave. NE, Atlanta). A reception will be held from 4:30-5:30 p.m.

Kathe Hambrick, executive director of the Amistad Research Center, will be the featured speaker.

Hambrick brings more than 30 years of experience in public history, curation and interpretation to preserve and share pivotal narratives of America's ethnic and racial history. As the founder of the River Road African American Museum in Louisiana, she has championed the preservation of African American history in the Mississippi River parishes. She holds a master’s degree in museum studies from Southern University at New Orleans and has curated over 100 exhibits, including "The Rural Roots of Jazz." A published author and consultant, Hambrick continues to shape a more inclusive historical narrative through her work.

“Dr. Benjamin Mays once said, ‘Every man and woman is born into the world to do something unique and something distinctive and if he or she does not do it, it will never be done.’ This certainly applies to Ms. Hambrick's many contributions to African American heritage preservation and public history,” said Joyce King, the Benjamin E. Mays Endowed Chair for Urban Teaching, Learning and Leadership. “Her accomplishments are inspiring – from the River Road African American Museum that she courageously founded in rural Louisiana, to the campaign that she mobilized to save and renovate an historic Rosenwald school building, to her determined protection of the Amistad Research Center's cultural and historical resources.”

Benjamin E. Mays was a minister, educator, sociologist, social activist and president of Morehouse College in Atlanta from 1940 to 1967. He also was president of the Atlanta Public Schools Board of Education and supervised the desegregation of Atlanta’s public schools. The annual Benjamin E. Mays Lecture is intended to encourage the discussion of issues facing urban educational leaders, as well as honor the memory of Dr. Mays and promote his philosophy of excellence in the education of those typically least well served by the larger society.

To RSVP to attend, visit https://bit.ly/MaysLecture2026RSVP.

For more information about the lecture, visit https://bit.ly/MaysLecture.