THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT 
              Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Monday, January 29, 1996               TAG: 9601290089
SECTION: LOCAL                    PAGE: B2   EDITION: FINAL 
SOURCE: STAFF REPORT 
DATELINE: NORFOLK                            LENGTH: Short :   30 lines

CHAVIS TO TALK AT NSU ABOUT RACE RELATIONS

Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis Jr., national director of the Million Man March and former executive director of the NAACP, will speak at Norfolk State University at 10 a.m. today in the Joseph G. Echols Memorial Hall.

Chavis came to national attention in 1971 when, as a civil rights organizer for the United Church of Christ, he was indicted along with nine other defendants in the firebombing of a grocery store in Wilmington, N.C.

All of the ``Wilmington 10'' were found guilty in 1972. On Dec. 4, 1980, the conviction of the Wilmington 10 was overturned by the Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, which cited conflicting testimony by various witnesses.

Chavis is to address Norfolk State students, faculty and community members on the status of race relations and the prescriptions for black progress.

Chavis' speech will kick off the annual Pride Week and African American History Month events sponsored by the university.

The event is free, and the public is invited.

For additional information, call the Norfolk State Office of Community Relations at 683-8236. by CNB