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The Man, The Moment, The Mission
Last weekend on Good Friday, the
National Association for the Advancement of
Colored People (NAACP) catapulted itself out
of the doldnims and into the 21st century -
indeed from obsolescence to relevance - with
the election of Rev. Dr., Benjamin F. Chavis,
Jr. as its fifth national executive director.
Chavis, originally from Oxford, N.C. -
has figuratively and literally paid his dues in
the struggle for political, economic and social
justice in this state, across this land and around
the world.
Much has already been written about
Chavis* early years battling racism in Oxford;
organizing in col-;
lege for SNCC
lent Coordinating GUEST COLUMNIST
Committee) and
SCLC (Southern
has been the prototype for progressive,
enlightened leadership on the critical issues of
the day. From combating benign and malig
nant racism in America to addressing U.S.
complicjtyjiLJthe tragedy of Angola, Ben
Chavis has been there.
From spearheading efforts to dialogue
with gangs from New York to L.A., to elevat
ing the issue of "environmental racism" to the
national agenda, Ben Chavis has been there.
this writer first became acquainted with
Chavis as a college junior in Boston when
Chavis was released on bond pending appeal
of the 1972 conviction. Coincidentally, Chavis
Christian Leader
ship Conference);
and mobilizing
African American
high school students in Wilmington for the
United Church of Christ's Commission for
Racial Justice.
In 1971 the Wilmington 10 a struggle
which evolved into one of the most bizarre and
egregious examples of governmental conspir
acy, legal lynching and racist prosecution in
history; a case that attracted national and inter
national attention prompting Amnesty Interna
tional to Classify the Wilmington 10 as "politi
cal prisoners."
Neither time nor space will permit us to
delve into the complexities of the Wilmington
10 case. Suffice it to say that Chavis and the
other eight heroes and one she-roe withstood
both the prosecution and persecution of this
state's criminal justice system. Indeed, Chavis
- like a modem day Daniel in the lion's den -
not only survived constant harassment and
numerous attempts on his life, but moreover
had the faith and courage to complete his mas
ter's degree at Duke while incarcerated.
In 1980, after nine years of trial, hearings,
appeals, national scrutiny, petitions and inter
national pressure, the Fourth Circuit Court of
Appeals overturned the conviction of the
By CLIFTON E. GRAVES JR.
and I were members of the same denomina
tion, the United Church of Christ and shared a
mutual mentor, the Rev. Edwin Edmonds of
New Haven, Conn.
We became brothers and friends and
stayed in contact through those painful prison
years of tragedy at Central and Caldonia, as
well' as those subsequent years of triumph
through his work with the Commission for
Racial Justice.
We have marched together in Warren
County and on Washington's capitol. We have
eaten at each other's mother's table.
Those of us who know Ben Chavis have
no doubt that the NAACP made the right
choice, indeed, the only choice.
As an astute student of both Malcolm X
and Martin King, and a devout disciple of
Jesus, Ben Chavis will help re-force and revi
talize a NAACP whose present day relevance
is uncertain to some, whose historic contribu
tions are undeniable to all.
To that end, Chavis has already
announced plans for a national summit with
gangNposse leaders; a national summit with
new and traditional African-American leader
ship to shape a national agenda; a strategy to ?
Wilmington 10, confirming what most African ? open the NAAC to Hispanics, Asians^ and ?
Americans and progressive thinking Causcas
sians knew all along - that Ben Chavis and the
Wilmington 10 were railroaded and unjustly
convicted and imprisoned.
Since his release, Chavis - a true scholar
has not only earned his doctorate, but more
importantly has recommitted his life, his
being, to the betterment of the economic polit
ical and social conditions that impact on
oppressed peoples everywhere.
Primarily through his work as executive
director for the United church of Christ's
Commission for Racial Justice. Ben Chavis
native Americans; and most importantly, plans
to make the NAACP financially solvent and
independent.
In the spirit of NAACP pioneers W.E.B.
Dubois and Monroe TrotterPaul Robeson and
Medgar Evers, Ben Chavis stands as the right
man at the right moment with the right mis
sion.
Those of us "card-carrying members" of
this nation's oldest civil-rights organization
must recommit our time and our resources to
making the NAACP what we need it to be.
Join renew and recommit to an action agenda
for challenge and change.
U.S. Military Spying On Blacks
Truth always eventually comes into the
light This is a true saying and in particular in
regard to the facts now being exposed concern
ing the disgraceful, immoral and illegal spying
on the African American community by elite
spy units of the U.S. military. Notwithstand
ing the historic fact that African Americans
have disproportionately fought and died as
loyal soldiers in the U.S. military since the
American Revolutionary War, it has now been
revealed that the U.S. military has spied on the
African American community for more than
seventy five years.
The public outcry in response to the dis
? closures in a report issued by The Commercial
Appeal newspaper in Memphis, Tennessee has
been tremendous. The Commercial Appeal
report was the
ally ordered and sanctioned domestic military,
convert action against law abiding citizens of
the United States who were of African descent
All Americans should be outraged.
African American members of the Con
gress of the United States should demand an
immediate Congressional investigation into the
details that have been brought to light in the
report released by The Commercial Appeal
Did the U.S. Army participate in the
assassination of Dr. King? Why were Army
agents from the 111th Military Intelligence
Group in Memphis at the time of Dr. King's
assassination? If these agents had Dr. King
under constant surveillance, then why did they"
attempt to prevent Dr. King's assassination?
Why did it take until 1993 for these facts to be
result of a 16
month investigation -
by the newspaper.
TTius, another sad
and tragic chapter
in the history of
American racism
has been revealed.
There are some
who are arguing
that the past should
be left to the pass,
and the nation should avoid looking into its
past on issues that may cause racial polariza-,
tion. We take exception to that view. It is
important to tell the truth about the past in
order to avoid repeating past misdeeds in the
future.
Martin Luther King, Jr. and his family
were targets of U.S. military action and spying.
The Commercial Appeal investigation con
firmed that the illegal spying was directed in
general at African American ministers and
African American congregations in the South
that were involved in challenging racial injus
tice.
As one reads this new investigative report
on U.S. military spying, there is a sense of
being reminded of how dangerous it is for any
nation or society not to have effective control
over the military apparatus. Yet, the U.S.
Army's Intelligence Division did not act to spy
on the African American community without
first having received "orders" to do the illegal
assignment
' In other words, along with the military
system, the political systpm and high govern
ment officials over a long period of time actu
CIVIL RIGHTS JOURNAL
By BENJAMIN F. CHAVIS JR.
revealed?
If the Army went to such an extent to col
lect intelligence by using highly sophisticated
electronic surveillance and other methods of
secret spying, including the use of U2 super
sonic spy planes, to collect information on
African American leaders and no evidence of
wrong doing was found, why did these illegal
acts continue for decades?
Racism does cause a type of unjustified
paranoia. The problem is that when agents of
racial paranoia have the unchecked access to
military power the dangers to social stability
are increased immeasurably. The Civil Rights
Movement should not have been viewed by
military authorities as a threat to national secu
rity.
The truth is that the sacrifices of Martin
Luther King, Jr. and thousands of others in the
civil Rights and Freedom Movements have
done more to ensure democracy and equal jus
tice in the United States than any military
operation in the nation or throughout the
world. Let us all work together to prevent a
repeat of this type of miscarriage of justice.
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