Benjamin Elijah Mays High School is a public school located in northwest Atlanta, Georgia

Atlanta, Georgia

Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...

, serving grades 9-12. The school is a part of the Atlanta Public School System and is a Georgia School of Excellence. The school was established in the fall of 1981 and the school's mascot is the Raiders. The school was named after prominent civil rights leader Benjamin Elijah Mays, who is best known for his outstanding leadership and service as an educator, author and civil rights activist. The staff at Mays High School makes it their mission to provide students with an outstanding education and numerous social and athletic programs.

Academic programs

Benjamin E. Mays High School students and faculty are a part of five Small Learning Communities (SLCs) Academies. While the principal oversees the school as a whole and focuses on building-wide issues, an assistant principal administers each academy. The students’ enjoy enormous academic successes from being a part of small learning communities. Since students ideally remain within the same academy for their entire academic career, this organizational structure allows teachers, counselors, administrators, parents and students to foster close relationships and ensure greater opportunities for success. The academies are:

• Business Entrepreneurship Academy
• Science and Mathematics Academy
• Eagle Leadership Academy (all boys)
• Mass Communications Academy
• Dorthy Heights female Academy

Athletics

The Mays High School Raiders athletic teams compete in Region 6-AAAA of the Georgia High School Association.

Mays High offers a wide variety of athletic programs including Varsity Girls Softball, Varsity Boys Track, Varsity Boys Soccer, Varsity team Varsity Football, Varsity Boys Basketball, Junior Varsity Boys Basketball, Varsity Girls Basketball, Junior Varsity Girls Basketball, Varsity Basketball,Junior Varsity Basketball, Cheerleading, Co-ed Step Team, Varsity Boys Swimming, Varsity Girls Volleyball, Varsity Girls Swimming, as well as many others. All home Varsity Football games, as well as track events are held at Lakewood Stadium

Lakewood Stadium

Lakewood Stadium is a 10,000 seat stadium located in the Lakewood Heights neighborhood of Southeast Atlanta, Georgia. The stadium is one of two stadiums owned and managed by the Atlanta Public Schools system, and it is also the largest. The other stadium is Grady Stadium. Lakewood stadium was the...

.

State Championships

• 2003 GHSA AAAA Girls Basketball Champions
• 2004 GHSA AAAA Boys Basketball Champions
• 2005 GHSA AAAA Boys Basketball Champions

Notable alumni

• Cee-Lo Green, Singer-songwriter, rapper and record producer and member of the groups Goodie Mob
  Goodie Mob
  Goodie Mob is a Hip Hop act based in Atlanta, Georgia that formed in 1991 and currently consists of members Cee-Lo Green, Khujo, T-Mo and Big Gipp.-History:The group's name acts as a double backronym...
  
   & Gnarls Barkley
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• Rozonda "Chilli" Thomas, Singer/Actress and member of the R&B/Hip-Hop/Pop girl group TLC (band)
  TLC (band)
  TLC is an American musical trio whose repertoire spanned R&B, hip-hop, soul, funk, and new jack swing. Originally consisting of singer Tionne "T-Boz" Watkins, rapper-singer Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes and singer Rozonda "Chilli" Thomas it found success in the 1990s while also enduring a series of spats...
  
  
• Dewayne Searcy, a.k.a. Emperor Searcy, On-Air Personality / Mixer on Atlanta's Hip Hop radio station HOT 107.9 & National mix-show coordinator for Radio One
• Shanti Das
  Shanti Das
  Shanti Das is a music industry executive, marketing consultant, entrepreneur, philanthropist and author...
  
  , Music industry executive, marketing consultant, entrepreneur, philanthropist and author
• Craig Love, Music Producer
• Art Terrell, Radio host for KISS 104.1 Atlanta's Old School R&B Station
• Ceasar Mitchell
  Ceasar Mitchell
  Ceasar Mitchell is the President of the Atlanta City Council, the second highest ranking public position in the City of Atlanta government. He has held this post since being elected in 2009 after serving for many years as city councilman representing Post 1 At Large. He is also a Senior Attorney...
  
  , Atlanta City Council President
• Kwanza Hall
  Kwanza Hall
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  , American politician
• Aaron Watson
  Aaron Watson
  Aaron Watson is an Texas country music singer.Watson was born in Amarillo, Texas and attended Abilene Christian University, where he began learning guitar, after playing junior college baseball in New Mexico. He gigged around Texas before releasing his debut album, A Texas Cafe; the follow-up,...
  
  , American politician
• Keisha Lance Bottoms, American politician
• Dr. Walter M. Kimbrough, President of Dillard University
• James S. Bronner, The IT Director and part owner of the multi-million dollar family-owned corporation Bronner Bros
• Radcliffe Bailey, Internationally renowned artist, He is the first Atlanta-based artist to headline a exhibition in The High Museum of Art main gallery
• Arle Michel, Singer/Actress
• Brian Hooker
  Brian Hooker
  Brian S. Hooker, PhD, PE, is a bioengineer and the team leader for the High Throughput Biology Team and Operations Manager of the DOE Genomics: Genomes to Life Center for Molecular and Cellular Systems at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory . Hooker also is credited as a co-inventor for...
  
  , Invented measuring carbon monoxide by determining iodine levels that was purchased by the City of Atlanta, 1988 NAACP ACT-SO Gold Medal Award winner for Chemistry
• Rashanda Scott, The Controller for The Atlanta Voice the largest audited African American community newspaper in Georgia
• Dr. Kimberly Edwards Beal, Student National Dental Association President (1999-2000)
• Simone Ward, Atlanta Hawks TV Sideline reporter and Ex wife of Hines Ward, WR for the Pittsburgh Steelers
• Vincent P. McCant, Founder & Publisher for AtlantaHapps.com a national web publication
• Winston Warrior, President of Creative Force & Artist at Vintage R&B
• Tim Murray, Comedian
• Gerald Wilkins
  Gerald Wilkins
  Gerald Bernard Wilkins is a retired American professional basketball player. A 6'6" shooting guard/small forward, who played collegiately at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, and later in the NBA.Gerald is the younger brother of former Atlanta Hawks superstar Dominique Wilkins and...
  
  , Retired NBA
  National Basketball Association
  The National Basketball Association is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in North America. It consists of thirty franchised member clubs, of which twenty-nine are located in the United States and one in Canada...
  
   player and younger brother of former Atlanta Hawks superstar Dominique Wilkins
  Dominique Wilkins
  Jacques Dominique Wilkins is a retired American professional basketball player who primarily played for the Atlanta Hawks of the NBA...
  
  
• Kelly Campbell
  Kelly Campbell
  LeVaughn Kelly Campbell is a Canadian football wide receiver for the Edmonton Eskimos of the Canadian Football League. He was signed by the Minnesota Vikings as an undrafted free agent in 2002...
  
  , CFL
  Canadian Football League
  The Canadian Football League or CFL is a professional sports league located in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football, a form of gridiron football closely related to American football....
  
   player for the Edmonton Eskimos
  Edmonton Eskimos
  The Edmonton Eskimos are a Canadian football team based in Edmonton, Alberta. They currently play in the West Division of the Canadian Football League . Edmonton is currently the third-youngest franchise in the CFL, although there were clubs with the name Edmonton Eskimos as early as 1895...
  
  
• Robert Neely, Athlete/Actor Retired NFL
  National Football League
  The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
  
   player for the Chicago Bears
  Chicago Bears
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• Nigel Reynard, American Writer, "In Due Time" Novel
• Ray Culpepper, American Filmmaker, Directed "The Naked Truth and Big Aint Bad"
• Kavian Anderson, Entrepreneur and co-founder of N.U.B.B. Entertainment