Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, August 21, 1994 TAG: 9408210107
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By Associated Press
DATELINE: BALTIMORE LENGTH: Medium
"This decision was not easy, nor was it pleasant," Chairman William Gibson said after a meeting of the 64-member board that lasted more than eight hours.
Gibson said Earl Shinhoster, who is national field secretary, will begin serving immediately as interim executive director until a permanent replacement for Chavis is found - probably in 30 to 60 days.
Although the meeting was closed to reporters and other outsiders, sources familiar with the protracted proceedings said the resolution to dismiss Chavis passed by a wide margin.
At a brief news conference held to announce Chavis' ouster, Gibson declined to give a breakdown of the vote, but said 57 members were present.
Asked whether sexual harrassment charges and subsequent settlement of a lawsuit by a former NAACP employee led to the dismissal of Chavis, Gibson said: "I don't think it was a key issue. It was an accumulation of things."
Chavis was not at the news conference.
Earlier, Rodney Orange, president of the Baltimore NAACP chapter, had said the board was concerned that the way Chavis handled the civil rights group's money had damaged the organization.
Initial word of Chavis' ouster came from Orange about six hours after the meeting started. Gibson's formal statement came about two hours later.
The session was closed to reporters. They also were barred from the grounds immediately surrounding the NAACP building.
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People's debate came in the wake of disclosure of a $332,400 out-of-court settlement that critics said reflected Chavis' habit of making costly decisions behind the board's back.
by CNB