Dr. Helen Chavis Othow, Sister of NNPA President Benjamin Chavis, Dies at 89
OXFORD, NC – Dr. Helen Chavis Othow, the sister of National Newspaper Publishers Association President and CEO Benjamin F. Chavis Jr., has died at the age of 89. She passed on New Years Day.
A lover of reading, writing, and history, Othow received her doctorate from the University of Wisconsin in Madison and majored in Black studies and African, African American, and Caribbean literature.
She also studied Elizabethan and Medieval literature, and her dissertation, “The New Decorum: Moral Perspectives of Black Literature,” was published in the Library of Congress.
Dr. Othow presented “Sundiata: An Epic of Old Mali by D.T. Niane,” which illustrated her appreciation and knowledge of African culture. She expressed a desire to impart to all citizens of the world.
“My sister was also a freedom fighter,” Chavis said. “The Chavis family has been fighting for freedom, justice, and equality for 250 years in American and in Africa.”
Born April 21, 1932, in Oxford, North Carolina, Othow was the daughter of Benjamin Franklin Sr., a mason and superintendent of child care institutions, and Elisabeth Chavis, a teacher and writer.
A park in Raleigh, North Carolina, bears the name of her ancestor, John Chavis.
A lover of education, Othow also received a bachelor’s degree from St. Augustine’s College (now St. Augustine’s University) in 1952, and, in 1958, she earned her master’s at North Carolina Central University.
She eventually became head of the English department at St. Augustine’s College, serving in that position from 1984 to 2001.
She was a conscientious scholar dedicated to enhancing excellence in the literary and other arts.
Othow also pushed for the understanding of African American history, including educating her students and others about John Chavis, who fought in the Revolutionary War and became an educator who taught some of North Carolina’s most influential leaders.
She was a member of the Association for the Study of African-American Life and History, Association of Departments of English, Zora Neale Hurston Society, Zora Neale Hurston Black Film Consortium, Langston Hughes Society, Anna J. Cooper Society, John Chavis Historical Society (president), Mid-Atlantic Writers Association, North Carolina Writers Network, and Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.
Othow is survived by her daughter, Ajulonyodier Elisabeth, her brother, Benjamin F. Chavis Jr., and a host of other relatives.
Dr. Othow was a Awesome Professor at Johnson C Smith University! during my school days of 1974 – 1977.
I am saddened to read of the passing of Dr. Helen Othow in Spectacular news. Thanks for the update. I have known Sis. Helen since 1972. I recall her fighting spirit that mobilized a few good people to meet at Stagecoach Diner (near Shaw University) to form the Wilmington 10 Defense Committee on March 6th,1972. The meeting included John Mendez (Shaw U SGA President), Anade Othow, Sam Jordan, George K, Pat Bryant, Bambose Shango and I. Sis. Helen was an African and freedom fighter; Concerned African Students Association (CASA) supported her work to free the Ben Chavis and other political prisoners of the W-10. Dr. Othow’s works speak for her in academia, champion of African American culture and the African Personality. I last saw Helen, Ben, family members and others of John Chavis Historical Society at the grand opening of new park building dedicated to Dr. John Chavis at Chavis Park. Dr. Helen Othow was instrumental for African American cultural events in Oxford, NC. Her St. Cyprien Church held several programs to advance civic and voting rights, BHM plus Kwanzaa. We have lost a community treasure in Oxford and State. Africa and Africans lost a great daughter. May God bless her soul and comfort her family. May her African Ancestral spirits hail her as warrior queen. I will miss my beloved Sister, Helen, always and forever. God bless Dr. Helen Othow.