John Chavis: African-American Patriot, Preacher, Teacher, and Mentor (1763-1838). (faith reviews).

John Chavis: African-American Patriot,
Preacher, Teacher, and Mentor (1763-1838)
by Helen Chavis-Othow
McFarland & Company, Inc., May 2001
$32.00, ISBN 0-7864-0818-9

Although the average elementary school education covers the accomplishments of important African-American figures like Martin Luther King, Jr., Frederick Douglass, Mary McLeod Bethune and Crispus Attucks, there are countless others who are unknown to the general public. John Chavis is one of them.

In John Chavis: African-American Patriot, Preacher, Teacher and Mentor, Dr. Helen Chavis-Othow, a direct descendent, successfully brings the strength of John Chavis's legacy to contemporary readers.

Born free in a time when most blacks were enslaved, John Chavis became the first black man ordained in the Presbyterian Church. Highly respected by his peers as he taught and preached for both blacks and whites, his true legacy has been distorted throughout time. Determined to set the record straight and disprove claims that he was an Uncle Tom, Dr. Chavis-Othow provides documents and in-depth research that prove he was indeed influential.

Dr. Chavis-Othow is thorough and has created a book rich in relevant history. It is like holding a pot of gold in one's hand. Her inclusion of Rev. Chavis's own "Letter Upon the Doctrine of the Extent of the Atonement of Christ" which took four years of patient perseverance to publish in 1837, renders the book invaluable. John Chavis is revealed as a vulnerable and self-reflecting individual wrestling with his own contradictions and those of the Church such as "How does one reconcile being a Christian and a slave owner?"

Dr. Helen Chavis-Othow and Minister Benjamin F. (Chavis) Muhammud, who wrote the book's foreword, have produced a profound documentation of the life of a remarkable man.

--Reviewed by Kerika Fields. Kerika Fields is a freelance writer and photographer residing in Brooklyn, New York.