biography
| name: |
Chavis, Benjamin (Franklin), Jr
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| sex:
| male
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| lived:
| (1948– )
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| biography:
| Protestant minister, civil rights activist, born in Oxford, North Carolina, USA. From a long line of preachers, he took a degree in chemistry at the University of North Carolina. He took part in a protest against school segregation in Wilmington, NC (1971), was arrested, and spent four years in jail. By the time his conviction was overturned by a Federal court in 1980, he had earned a degree in divinity from Duke University. He went on to become a minister for the United Church of Christ and an activist for its Commission for Racial Justice, fighting for civil rights in a variety of arenas. In 1993, after a highly publicized search, he was selected as the executive director of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). He is credited with reviving the organization's flagging image, specifically with making it more appealing and relevant to the concerns of young African-Americans. In 1994 he was dismissed following allegations of unauthorized use of NAACP funds. |
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