Dr. William F. Gibson, former chairman of NAACP, dies

Dr. William F. Gibson, who headed South Carolina's National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) chapter for 18 years before he was elected chairman of the national board, died of cancer in Greenville, SC. He was 69.

A dentist, Mr. Gibson was elected chairman of the NAACP's national board in 1985. He held that position for a decade.

"Bill Gibson was a fighter for justice and a friend," NAACP President Kweisi Mfume said of the former chairman's death. "The NAACP mourns his passing."

Born in Darlington County, Mr. Gibson was the son of a brick mason and schoolteacher. In 1961, while attending a voter-registration meeting at the Springfield Baptist Church, he decided to devote his life to civil rights. He was elected treasurer of the group.

Mr. Gibson organized the Black Council for Progress, a group that helped boost Blacks into local and state political offices during the 1970s.

His commitment to voters' rights carried on through his election as NAACP chairman. "The ballot is the most important weapon we have," Mr. Gibson once said.

"He had a passion for social justice," said the Rev. Jesse Jackson, who eulogized Gibson during a memorial service at Springfield Baptist. "No one in our state registered more voters and raised more issues of social justice than Dr. Gibson."

Survivors include his wife, Lottie, and four sons.