Obituary of Ben A. Chaney, Jr.

Ben Chaney, Jr. Obituary: Ben Chaney, Jr. was born on July 12, 1952, to Ben and Fannie Lee Chaney in Meridian, Ms. Ben was the youngest of five children; three sisters, Barbara, Janice and Julia and an older brother James, who he absolutely adored and emulated from the moment he could talk and walk. They were a close-knit family who enjoyed each other’s company and Ben and his siblings loved playing pranks on one another and joking around the house. Ben’s world shattered in 1964 when his big brother James Chaney was murdered for encouraging and organizing African Americans to vote. He was just 12 years old at the time, but he vowed then to spend the rest of his life honoring his brother’s legacy and committing himself to causes related to Civil Rights. As a child, he attended St. Joseph’s Catholic School and as an adult he completed a few semesters at John Jay College before starting his career as a paralegal under former United States Attorney General William Ramsey Clark. Ben was a wonderful orator and was often invited to events to speak about the legal and strategy work he was doing to preserve his brother’s legacy and ensure that the civil rights of others were being upheld. He would also organize reverse Freedom Rides for high school and college students from New York City to Mississippi and back