Attorney James C. and Sylvia Mays celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary on September 20, 2019 and shared a party with over 100 people at the Hazlehurst House on October 5. The couple met at Clark College (now Clark Atlanta University) and married before James entered the University of Iowa Law School in the Fall of 1969.

They have a son, attorney Derek C. Mays, of St. Louis, Missouri who is married to the former Keia Mapp and has two children, Jillian and Ashley. The Mays are residents of Locust Grove, where they have lived for fourteen years.