Dan May
Encyclopedia
Dan May was a Nashville, Tennessee
business, educational and civic leader.
, May was an active member and trustee of many civic and educational organizations in the Nashville area.
May is one of the historic Nashville figures whose likenesses were created by artist Red Grooms
for the Tennessee Foxtrot Carousel in Nashville.
May was active in the Nashville desegregation
effort of the 1950s. In The Jews in America, Arthur Hertzberg
wrote,
May became chairman of the May Hosiery Mills (subsequently part of the Wayne-Gossard Corp.) in Nashville after the death of his father, Jacob May (1861-1946), who founded the company.
In Mortimer May, Foot soldier in Zion, the 1965 biography of May's brother Mortimer, Sam Shankman summarized Dan May's civic involvement:
May was also the cousin of infamous gangster Dutch Schultz
.
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
business, educational and civic leader.
Biography
An alumnus and long-time member of the board of trustees of Vanderbilt UniversityVanderbilt University
Vanderbilt University is a private research university located in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1873, the university is named for shipping and rail magnate "Commodore" Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided Vanderbilt its initial $1 million endowment despite having never been to the...
, May was an active member and trustee of many civic and educational organizations in the Nashville area.
May is one of the historic Nashville figures whose likenesses were created by artist Red Grooms
Red Grooms
Red Grooms is an American multimedia artist best known for his colorful pop-art constructions depicting frenetic scenes of modern urban life...
for the Tennessee Foxtrot Carousel in Nashville.
May was active in the Nashville desegregation
Desegregation
Desegregation is the process of ending the separation of two groups usually referring to races. This is most commonly used in reference to the United States. Desegregation was long a focus of the American Civil Rights Movement, both before and after the United States Supreme Court's decision in...
effort of the 1950s. In The Jews in America, Arthur Hertzberg
Arthur Hertzberg
Arthur Hertzberg was a Conservative rabbi and prominent Jewish-American scholar and activist.-Biography:...
wrote,
In Nashville, Tennessee, Dan May, a leading industrialist, was chairman of the school board in 1954, and he took the lead in fostering a plan for integratingRacial integrationRacial integration, or simply integration includes desegregation . In addition to desegregation, integration includes goals such as leveling barriers to association, creating equal opportunity regardless of race, and the development of a culture that draws on diverse traditions, rather than merely...
the public schoolsMetropolitan Nashville Public SchoolsMetropolitan Nashville Public Schools, or MNPS, is a school district that serves the city of Nashville, Tennessee. Over 74,000 students are currently enrolled in the district's 71 elementary schools, 36 middle schools and 15 high schools.- Demographics :...
, one grade at a time. This modest suggestion did not endear him to the local racists, and he had to be guarded by police for a while.
May became chairman of the May Hosiery Mills (subsequently part of the Wayne-Gossard Corp.) in Nashville after the death of his father, Jacob May (1861-1946), who founded the company.
In Mortimer May, Foot soldier in Zion, the 1965 biography of May's brother Mortimer, Sam Shankman summarized Dan May's civic involvement:
- Daniel [May] devoted himself assiduously to the labor of a modern industrialist, mainly to the management of a large hosieryHosieryHosiery, also referred to as legwear, describes garments worn directly on the feet and legs. The term originated as the collective term for products of which a maker or seller is termed a hosier; and those products are also known generically as hose...
manufacturing enterprise, yet finding time for myriad activity in civic and communal endeavor.
- Daniel May served during World War IIWorld War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
in the War Production BoardWar Production BoardThe War Production Board was established as a government agency on January 16, 1942 by executive order of Franklin D. Roosevelt.The purpose of the board was to regulate the production and allocation of materials and fuel during World War II in the United States...
. He was for long years a member of the Nashville Board of Education and its chairman for three years. He was elected a magistrateMagistrateA magistrate is an officer of the state; in modern usage the term usually refers to a judge or prosecutor. This was not always the case; in ancient Rome, a magistratus was one of the highest government officers and possessed both judicial and executive powers. Today, in common law systems, a...
of Davidson CountyDavidson County, TennesseeDavidson County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of 2010, the population was 626,681. Its county seat is Nashville.In 1963, the City of Nashville and the Davidson County government merged, so the county government is now known as the "Metropolitan Government of Nashville and...
in 1954 and continues in that position. In this capacity he has maintained his interest in education as chairman of the school committee of the County Court which governs the working of the county school system. He was a member of the Board of Trust of Fisk UniversityFisk UniversityFisk University is an historically black university founded in 1866 in Nashville, Tennessee, U.S. The world-famous Fisk Jubilee Singers started as a group of students who performed to earn enough money to save the school at a critical time of financial shortages. They toured to raise funds to...
for many years. He has been a Trustee of Vanderbilt UniversityVanderbilt UniversityVanderbilt University is a private research university located in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1873, the university is named for shipping and rail magnate "Commodore" Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided Vanderbilt its initial $1 million endowment despite having never been to the...
, his Alma Mater, for more than a decade.
- At the moment he is President of the Nashville Rotary Club, the first time such honor has come to a Jew. He has labored strenuously for consolidated city and county government. When it was adopted, he ran for the Metropolitan Council; of 89 candidates seeking the five council seats at-large, he received the greatest number of votes.
- In the Jewish community he has been president of the Jewish Community CenterJewish Community CenterA Jewish Community Center or Jewish Community Centre is a general recreational, social and fraternal organization serving the Jewish community in a number of cities...
and of the Community Council, and he has served as general chairman of the Welfare Fund on two occasions. He has ever been concerned with better understanding between groups in the community complex, and has played a substantial role in promoting wholesome relations between religious and racial segments. On many agencies his has been a positive and constructive voice for Negro rights and progress in which Nashville has been in the van of Southern communities.
May was also the cousin of infamous gangster Dutch Schultz
Dutch Schultz
Dutch Schultz was a New York City-area Jewish American gangster of the 1920s and 1930s who made his fortune in organized crime-related activities such as bootlegging alcohol and the numbers racket...
.