Benjamin Chavis
Ph.D
FL, USWhen Russell Simmons established the Hip-Hop Summit Action Network(HSAN) to empower the Hip-Hop community to utilize their commanding cultural influence for freedom, justice and equality, he needed someone with a strong mind and commitment to youth, national civil rights experience, political skills, vast spiritual knowledge and an adept human touch to head up the organization. That man was Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis, also known as Minister Benjamin Muhammad. It was 2001 when the HSAN was born and Dr. Chavis was named President and CEO.
Chavis comes to the HSAN with a professional history of solid principles, demonstrated courage and immense diversity. A native of Oxford, North Carolina, he holds a number of prestigious degrees: He received a Bachelor of Arts in Chemistry from University of North Carolina; a Master of Divinity, M.Div., magna cum laude, from Duke University; a Doctor of Ministry, D.Min., from Howard University; and completed course requirements for a Doctor of Philosophy, PhD, from Union Theological Seminary.
Dr Benjamin Chavis began his career in 1965, as a statewide youth coordinator in NC for the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). In 1969, Chavis was appointed Southern Regional Program Director of the 1.7million member United Church of Christ Commission for Racial Justice (UCC-CRJ) and by 1985 was named the Executive Director and CEO of the UCC-CRJ. In 1988, Dr. Chavis was elected Vice President of the National Council of Churches of the USA. Then in 1993, Dr. Chavis achieved what no other before him had achieved. He became the youngest person ever to be the Executive Director and CEO of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).
The journey into the Hip-Hop culture actually had its roots for Chavis dating back to 1969 when he was the proprietor and regular “DJ” and “MC” for The Soul Kitchen Disco in his hometown of Oxford, NC. In the 1970’s, Chavis envisioned that there was a direct connection between the urban underground music and the post-civil rights era. During the1980’s, Chavis witnessed the growing popularity of hip-hop with disenfranchised youth entrapped into urban poverty. As head of the NAACP in 1993, he worked with Run DMC to mobilize youth voters. Thus, it made perfect sense when hip-hop’s premier video director, Hype Williams, cast Chavis in the pivotal role as the “Minister” in the 1998 hip-hop classic movie “BELLY,” which starred superstar hip-hop artists Nas, Method Man and DMX.
When Dr. Chavis organized both the Million Man and Million Family Marches in 1995 and 2000 respectively, Russell Simmons worked with him to mobilize hip-hop leaders to support the marches. Ultimately, the two men realized they had a similar vision for this generation of hip-hop youth, and to that end, they created the first national Hip-Hop Summit in New York City, from which grew the Hip-Hop Summit Action Network (HSAN). Today the HSAN is the largest and broadest national coalition of hip-hop artists, recording industry executives, youth activists and civil rights leaders. Dr. Chavis is married Martha Rivera Chavis and the father of eight children.
When Russell Simmons established the Hip-Hop Summit Action Network(HSAN) to empower the Hip-Hop community to utilize their commanding cultural influence for freedom, justice and equality, he needed someone with a strong mind and commitment to youth, national civil rights experience, political skills, vast spiritual knowledge and an adept human touch to head up the organization. That man was Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis, also known as Minister Benjamin Muhammad. It was 2001 when the HSAN was born and Dr. Chavis was named President and CEO.
Chavis comes to the HSAN with a professional history of solid principles, demonstrated courage and immense diversity. A native of Oxford, North Carolina, he holds a number of prestigious degrees: He received a Bachelor of Arts in Chemistry from University of North Carolina; a Master of Divinity, M.Div., magna cum laude, from Duke University; a Doctor of Ministry, D.Min., from Howard University; and completed course requirements for a Doctor of Philosophy, PhD, from Union Theological Seminary.
Dr Benjamin Chavis began his career in 1965, as a statewide youth coordinator in NC for the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). In 1969, Chavis was appointed Southern Regional Program Director of the 1.7million member United Church of Christ Commission for Racial Justice (UCC-CRJ) and by 1985 was named the Executive Director and CEO of the UCC-CRJ. In 1988, Dr. Chavis was elected Vice President of the National Council of Churches of the USA. Then in 1993, Dr. Chavis achieved what no other before him had achieved. He became the youngest person ever to be the Executive Director and CEO of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).
The journey into the Hip-Hop culture actually had its roots for Chavis dating back to 1969 when he was the proprietor and regular “DJ” and “MC” for The Soul Kitchen Disco in his hometown of Oxford, NC. In the 1970’s, Chavis envisioned that there was a direct connection between the urban underground music and the post-civil rights era. During the1980’s, Chavis witnessed the growing popularity of hip-hop with disenfranchised youth entrapped into urban poverty. As head of the NAACP in 1993, he worked with Run DMC to mobilize youth voters. Thus, it made perfect sense when hip-hop’s premier video director, Hype Williams, cast Chavis in the pivotal role as the “Minister” in the 1998 hip-hop classic movie “BELLY,” which starred superstar hip-hop artists Nas, Method Man and DMX.
When Dr. Chavis organized both the Million Man and Million Family Marches in 1995 and 2000 respectively, Russell Simmons worked with him to mobilize hip-hop leaders to support the marches. Ultimately, the two men realized they had a similar vision for this generation of hip-hop youth, and to that end, they created the first national Hip-Hop Summit in New York City, from which grew the Hip-Hop Summit Action Network (HSAN). Today the HSAN is the largest and broadest national coalition of hip-hop artists, recording industry executives, youth activists and civil rights leaders. Dr. Chavis is married Martha Rivera Chavis and the father of eight children.
