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Seniors at Atlanta’s Mays High School receive prom surprise, college opportunity

Atlanta, Georgia – Seniors at Benjamin E. Mays High School have been given a series of surprises this week with the goal of enriching their futures. GPB’s Amanda Andrews explains.

Surprise Prom Sponsorship

Slutty Vegan founder and restauranteur Pinky Cole Hayes sponsored the Benjamin E Mays senior prom on April 27. Through her eponymous foundation, Cole was able to provide catering, decorations, entertainment, and even attire for the students at the Southwest Atlanta school.

College Opportunity at Morris Brown

Upcoming Mays High School graduates also received another surprise: automatic admission to Atlanta’s Morris Brown College. The deal is open to all seniors with a 2.0 grade point average or higher.

Derrick Boazman, a Morris Brown alum and former Atlanta City Councilmember, praised the work university president Kevin E. James is doing, calling it remarkable. “I’m sure there are other college presidents saying, ‘We should have thought of that,’” he said. “But, the wonder of Morris Brown is that it has always been a visionary institution that looks to the future while still reclaiming the glory of its past.”

The admission deal applies to the entire class of nearly 300 seniors as long as they have above a 2.0 GPA. Morris Brown University recently regained its accreditation after 19 years. It was founded in Atlanta in 1881 as the first university in Georgia owned and operated by African-Americans.

Boazman expressed his excitement to hear the success stories of students who take advantage of this opportunity. “I want to come back in 10, 11 years and hear the story of resilience and how they made it over,” he said. “Because this Black college founded in the basement of [Big Bethel AME Church] dared to give them a chance when somebody perhaps thought that they were not worthy of it.”

Notable Alumni and Community Impact

Mays High School is home to several notable alumni, including Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens, Rozonda “Chilli” Thomas of TLC, and former Dillard University President Walter Kimbrough.