John Chavis

This article is for the black educator. For the football coach of the same name, see John Chavis (American football).John Chavis (c. 1763–June 15, 1838) was a free black educator and Presbyterian minister in the American South during the early 19th century. Born in Oxford, NC, he fought for the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. He was the first African American to graduate from college. He studied with John Witherspoon at the College of New Jersey and finished his studies at Liberty Hall Academy in Virginia, where he was licensed to preach. Later while working in Raleigh, North Carolina, he established a private school that was highly regarded and attended by both white and black students (although on differing schedules.)