Carlos Chaverst Jr

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Carlos Montez Chaverst Jr (born 1993) is an entrepreneur and the director of communications for Vote from Home USA. He was formerly an assistant to Birmingham City Council District 6 representative Sheila Tyson and president of the Birmingham Justice League Alabama Youth Move chapter of the National Action Network.

Chaverst is the son of Carlos Chaverst Sr. He grew up in Pratt City and graduated from Erwin High School in 2012. While in high school, he produced and directed a series of short videos for ABC 33/40 addressing challenges for teenagers. The National Association of Black Journalists granted him a "Salute to Excellence" award for that series. He enrolled as a broadcast major at UAB, but switched to a political science and government before completing his bachelor's degree in 2016. While in college he appeared as an on-air commentator for HLN's "After Dark" program and hosted "Real Talk With Carlos Chaverst" on WATV-AM.

Chaverst also worked as a trainer for Target and as an outreach coordinator for the communications firm Abacus/Sharp. He joined Al Sharpton's National Action Network in October 2013. He worked on the 2012 presidential re-election campaign for Barack Obama as a field Director and organizer in Santa Rosa Beach, Florida; and the 2016 campaign for Bernie Sanders as director of HBCU outreach in Alabama. He has also served as secretary of Frank Matthews' Outcast Voters League and vice president of Le'Darius Hilliard's Jefferson County Millennial Democrats. Chaverst and Mercutio Southall filed a joint lawsuit against the Donald Trump campaign and the BJCC alleging negligence and violations of their civil rights as protesters when they were removed from a rally.

Chaverst, who had volunteered in Tyson's office already, was hired as an executive assistant in September 2015. He was fired from that position in January 2017. He claims that his firing was the result of his confrontation with Guiding Light Church pastor Jim Lowe, who had invited Roy Moore to address his congregation.

In April Chaverst was charged with "obstructing government operations" as a result of an argument with Fairfield Police Chief Nick Dyer about the conduct of an officer who apparently assaulted a citizen at a gas station. He missed a court appearance, and was arrested on the outstanding warrant while protesting outside a Birmingham Water Works Board meeting for indicted board chair Sherry Lewis to resign.

Chaverst applied to challenge William Bell in the 2017 mayoral election, but did not qualify because he was not yet 25 years old. He began taking political consulting contracts, styling himself as "Chaverst Strategies" and focusing on opposition research and voter turnout efforts. He also serves as executive director of the non-profit Carlos Chaverst Foundation created after his father's death, and operated an ice cream truck under the name Chaverst Mobile Creamery.

After Tyson left her Council seat vacant to be sworn into the Jefferson County Commission he applied to be appointed by the Council to fill her seat, but was passed over in favor of Crystal Smitherman.

The fatal shooting by a Hoover Police Officer of E. J. Bradford Jr in the aftermath of a shooting incident on Thanksgiving night, November 22, 2018 prompted a number of demonstrations. Chaverst, wielding a megaphone, emerged as a vocal leader of the protests. He was arrested on the evening of Tuesday, December 11 at the start of a protest outside the Hoover Public Safety Center. He was charged with three counts of disorderly conduct stemming from an earlier incident between police and protesters on I-459, and one count of loitering.

During the George Floyd protests and riots in 2020, Chaverst made social media posts apparently urging property destruction and looting. On July 21 Chaverst surrendered to jails in Hoover, Homewood and Birmingham on a range of misdemeanor charges. In a public statement he also referred to outstanding charges in Brookside, though claimed never to have been there. During the 2020 presidential election he worked for Tom Steyer's campaign.

Chaverst moved to Denver, Colorado in 2021 and operates the Carlos Chaverst Foundation along with his strategic consulting and real estate businesses from there. He married Memri Williams in May 2022.

References

  • Bowser, Edward T. (November 1, 2013) "Agents of Change: Carlos Chaverst's video series gives millennials encouragement, direction." The Birmingham News
  • Worthy, Ariel (November 16, 2016) "Carlos Chaverst: Activists are not made, they are born." The Birmingham Times
  • Robinson, Carol (December 8, 2017) "Birmingham activist arrested on old warrant during Water Works Board protest." The Birmingham News
  • Robinson, Carol (December 11, 2018) "Protest leader Carlos Chaverst Jr. arrested on 4 warrants during demonstration outside Hoover jail." The Birmingham News
  • Koplowitz, Howard (December 11, 2018) "Who is Carlos Chaverst? Hoover mall protest leader wants to be voice for E.J. Bradford." The Birmingham News
  • Robinson, Carol (July 22, 2020) "Activist Carlos Chaverst arrested on warrants in Hoover, Homewood and Birmingham." The Birmingham News

External links

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