Gregory W. Hayes

Gregory W. Hayes
Died	(1906-12-02)December 2, 1906
Alma mater	Oberlin College
Occupation	Religious leader
Spouse	Mary Rice Hayes Allen

Gregory W. Hayes (died December 2, 1906) was a prominent leader in the Baptist community of African Americans in Richmond, Virginia. He graduated from Oberlin College.[1] In 1891, he became the second president of the Virginia Seminary, which he led until his death in 1906. His wife, Mary Rice Hayes Allen, was the daughter of a Confederate general and an African-American mother, as related by her daughter (of her second marriage) Carrie Allen McCray. Hayes intervened to provide Ota Benga, an Mbuti pygmy former slave who was exhibited at anthropological exhibitions, the opportunity to live with his family and study at the seminary.[2] In 1899, Hayes was involved in a leadership struggle with Z.D. Lewis over issues of operations and autonomy of an educational institution.[1] His wife succeeded him as the seminary's president after his death. She would remarry and move to Montclair, New Jersey with her second husband.

The G. W. Hayes School of Arts and Sciences, a division of Virginia Seminary and College, was named in 1988 to honor Hayes as its second president.[3] The institution also celebrates an annual Hayes Day celebration, and a statue commemorates his life and leadership.[3]

References

1. Gavins, Raymond (1 January 1977). The Perils and Prospects of Southern Black Leadership: Gordon Blaine Hancock, 1884-1970. Duke University Press. p. 25 – via Internet Archive. Z.d. lewis.
2. Samaan, A. E. (2013-02-08). From a Race of Masters to a Master Race: 1948 To 1848, page 453. A.E. Samaan. ISBN 978-1-62660-000-3.
3. McCray, Carrie Allen (13 January 1998). Freedom's Child: The Life of a Confederate General's Black Daughter. Algonquin Books. ISBN 9781565121867 – via Google Books.

External links