Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The skanner. (Portland, Or.) 1975-2014 | View Entire Issue (July 12, 2017)
July 12, 2017 The Skanner Page 9 News Tributes Pour in Celebrating the Life of Martha Rivera Chavis Lifelong activist remembered for her commitment to domestic and international civil rights By Stacy M. Brown NNPA Newswire M artha Rivera Cha- vis was not just the wife of civil rights leader Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis Jr., but by all accounts, from those who knew the Do- minican Republic-born activist, Rivera Chavis strived just as hard as her beloved husband for freedom, justice and equality for Blacks and other minorities. “I met Martha in 1993 when she was head of the Women in NAACP [WIN] committee and she sim- ply brought new life to that organization,” said Zach McDaniels, who served as the strategic adviser for Dr. Chavis, when he organized the Million Man March. “Martha shook up the NAACP, she had a very “ Martha Rivera Chavis translator for Angola’s United Nation’s ambas- sador. Angola’s U.N. Ambassa- dor Manuel Pacavira in- “We had the dinner with the ambassador in early September and by the 20th of September, we got married,” Chavis said. “It was not only love at fi rst sight, but mar- riage at fi rst sight.” The couple brought home 10 Angolans, in- cluding six with missing limbs. The injured foreign visitors remained in the Chavis’ home for more than a year with the cou- ple traveling with them to Capitol Hill to bring to light the atrocities that were happening in An- gola and other parts of Africa. “Martha didn’t just show sympathy, she em- pathized and wanted to do something about it,” Chavis said. She supported Chavis’ decision to leave his life- time post as executive director of the United Church of Christ’s Com- mission for Racial Jus- tice to become executive director of the NAACP, even though it meant up- rooting the family from Cleveland to Baltimore. “The thought of leaving a secure position meant a lot of soul-searching for both of us and Reginald F. Lewis had convinced me to do it and Martha en- couraged me to go for the NAACP job,” Chavis said. “She would become “ late 20s. When I won, I would never forget the famous picture of Mar- tha and I in The New York Times.” Chavis continued: “She sang ‘Lift Every Voice and Sing’ with all of us and she always remem- bered that and I would always use those words, those verses, in my speeches and sermons.” She had an understanding way about her and was very accepting of other people. The world was a better place with her in it a strong advocate for the NAACP and, at the time, the organization was struggling to attract younger people to come back and here I was with my young wife, in her Rivera Chavis would become head of WIN; she supported the women of the Million Man March and then spoke along See CHAVIS on page 10 Martha shook up the NAACP, she had a very vibrant spirit and to be around her and in her pres- ence, was always something special vibrant spirit and to be around her and in her presence, was always something special,” said McDaniels also worked as director of commu- nity aff airs for famed Baltimore attorney Billy Murphy. Rivera Chavis passed away in her home in Montclair, N.J. at 3 a.m. on Thursday, July 6. She was 53. “Our mother’s spirit, passion and love will al- ways be with us,” Rivera Chavis and Dr. Chavis’ children, Franklin, Ana Elisabeth, John Mandela, and Reginald Louis Cha- vis, said in a statement. Chavis and his wife met in the late 80s, aft er the civil rights leader spent time in Angola, where American-backed rebels mined civilian areas. At the time, Angola had one of the highest percentages of individ- uals with missing limbs, victims of the country’s brutal civil war, a fact that moved both Dr. Cha- vis and his wife. When Chavis met Martha Rivera, she was 29 and employed as a French-to-Portuguese troduced the couple at a New York restaurant and Chavis said although she was 16 years his junior, he was impressed with Martha’s sense of histo- ry and her knowledge of the contemporary move- ment in African, Latin America and the Carib- bean—each striving for independence, freedom and equality. “I was impressed that this young sister from the Dominican Repub- lic had an African con- science. A lot of times when you come from a place, you know where you are and you know your roots, but Martha knew what was going on in the contemporary world,” Chavis said. Rivera Chavis graduat- ed from Paris-Sorbonne University, the main inheritor of the old Sor- bonne, which dates back to the 13th century and counts as one of the fi rst universities in the world. She spoke fl uently in fi ve languages: Spanish, Portuguese, French, Ital- ian and English. She also worked as a translator for the Angolan ambas- sador. speakers David B. Page, MD, Providence Health and Services Felita Singleton, MS, Breast Cancer Survi- vor, Higher Educa- tion and Behavioral Health Professional The Skanner Foundation e h t e v a S ate! Martin Luther King, Jr. d BREAKFAST Oregonswwa@sistersnetworkinc.org • 503-206-8575 Jan. 15, 2018 – new location – Red lion - Jantzen Beach
