Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis, Jr. is a veteran civil rights leader, global business executive, educator, author, and theologian. He currently serves as Professor of Divinity and Interdisciplinary Studies at Duke University, and as President and CEO of the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA), representing over 200 Black-owned media companies across the United States. A lifelong activist, Dr. Chavis began his career in 1963 as the North Carolina youth coordinator for the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). Wrongfully imprisoned as a member of the Wilmington Ten declared political prisoners by Amnesty International—Dr. Chavis earned his MDiv magna cum laude from Duke University while serving a 34-year sentence, later receiving a pardon. He holds a PhD in systematic theology from Union Theological Seminary and a DMin from Howard University.
Dr. Chavis served as Executive Director and CEO of the NAACP from 1993 to 1994, and in 1995 he was the National Director of the historic Million Man March. An ordained minister in the United Church of Christ and a published author, his work spans corporate diversity, human rights, climate justice, and the intersection of civil rights and hip-hop culture. He currently serves as President and CEO of the National Newspaper Publishers Association. Dr. Chavis also serves as an ISGAP Faculty Member.