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Dr. Ben Chavis To Keynote The Chapel Hill—Carrboro NAACP Annual Community Martin Luther King, Jr. Service at First Baptist Church
The Chapel Hill and Carrboro communities will come together once again on Monday January 17, 2011 at the historic First Baptist Church on North Roberson Street, to honor the legacy of slain Civil Rights hero and Nobel Peace Prize humanitarian, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. This year’s keynote speaker is Rev. Dr. Ben Chavis—long-time civil rights leader and one of the Wilmington 10 whose early-life story was masterfully woven together by Duke Professor, Dr. Tim Tyson, (a senior research scholar at the Center for Documentary Studies and visiting professor of American Christianity and Southern Culture at Duke’s Divinity School and last year’s speaker) and published in Tyson’s best-selling book turned movie, “Blood Done Signed My Name.” Dr. Chavis--an author, educator and global business leader—is the President of Education Online Services Corporation (EOServe Corp.), the world’s leading provider of online higher education for Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) across America, as well as other academic institutions of higher learning throughout the world. Dr. Chavis is also the President, CEO and Co-Founder with Russell Simmons, of the Hip-Hop Summit Action Network (HSAN), the world’s largest coalition of hip-hop artists and recording industry executives. In 1993 and 1994 Dr. Chavis served as the Executive Director and CEO of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and remains a life-member of the NAACP. In 1995, Dr. Chavis was the National Director and organizer of the Million Man March. From 1995 to 1997 Chavis was the Executive Director and CEO of the National African American Leadership Summit (NAALS).
The annual Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday service will begin with a march and rally starting at Peace and Justice Plaza in Chapel Hill at 9:00 a.m. The service at First Baptist Church is scheduled to begin at 11:00 a.m. During the service two prestigious awards will be given—the Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Service Award and the Rebecca Clark Award for Voter Registration and Civic Engagement. This year’s theme is “Not One Step Back: Renewing Dr. King’s Call To Conscience.”
