C. T. Vivian facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
C. T. Vivian
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C. T. Vivian in September 2015
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Cordy Tindell Vivian
July 30, 1924 Boonville, Missouri, U.S.
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| Died | July 17, 2020 (aged 95) Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.
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| Resting place | Westview Cemetery, Atlanta, Georgia |
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Cordy Tindell Vivian (July 30, 1924 – July 17, 2020) was an American minister and author. He was a close friend and helper of Martin Luther King Jr. during the Civil Rights Movement. This movement worked for equal rights for all people. Vivian lived in Atlanta, Georgia. He started the C. T. Vivian Leadership Institute, Inc. He was also a member of the Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity.
Senator Barack Obama once called Vivian "the greatest preacher to ever live." He said this in 2007 at a church in Selma, Alabama.
Contents
Early Life and First Protests
Vivian was born in Boonville, Missouri. When he was a small boy, he moved with his mother to Macomb, Illinois. He went to school there. He finished Macomb High School in 1942. Later, he went to Western Illinois University. There, he worked as a sports editor for the school newspaper.
His first job was a recreation director in Peoria, Illinois. In Peoria, Vivian took part in his first "sit-in" protests. A sit-in is when people sit down in a public place and refuse to leave. They do this to protest unfair rules. These sit-ins helped to end segregation at Barton's Cafeteria in 1947. Segregation meant keeping Black and white people separate.
Working for Civil Rights
In 1959, Vivian studied to become a minister in Nashville, Tennessee. He met James Lawson there. Lawson taught students about nonviolence. This was a strategy used by Mahatma Gandhi. It meant protesting peacefully without using violence.
Nashville Sit-ins
Lawson's students, including Diane Nash and John Lewis, started peaceful sit-ins. They sat at lunch counters in Nashville where Black people were not allowed to eat. On April 19, 1960, 4,000 people marched to Nashville's City Hall. Vivian and Diane Nash talked with the mayor. The mayor agreed that racial discrimination was wrong. Many of these students became important leaders in the Civil Rights Movement.
Vivian helped start the Nashville Christian Leadership Conference. He also helped organize the first sit-ins in Nashville in 1960. He helped with the first civil rights march in 1961.
Freedom Rides and SCLC
In 1961, Vivian joined the Freedom Riders. These groups rode buses into the segregated Southern states. They wanted to challenge unfair laws. Vivian worked with Martin Luther King Jr. He was a national director for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). This group was very important in the Civil Rights Movement.
Vivian also supported workers during a strike in Atlanta in 1964-1965. After the Selma to Montgomery marches, Vivian started a program called Vision. This program helped 702 students from Alabama go to college with scholarships. This program later became known as Upward Bound.
Writing and Community Work
In 1970, Vivian wrote a book called Black Power and the American Myth. It was the first book about the Civil Rights Movement by someone on Martin Luther King's team. In the 1970s, Vivian moved to Atlanta. In 1977, he started the Black Action Strategies and Information Center (BASIC). This group helped workplaces with issues of different cultures and race.
In 1979, he helped start the Center for Democratic Renewal. This group brought Black and white people together. They worked to fight against white supremacist groups. In 1984, Vivian worked on Jesse Jackson's campaign for president. He also helped start a Black-owned bank in Atlanta in 1994.
Vivian often spoke publicly and led workshops. He appeared on TV shows like Oprah. He was also featured in the civil rights documentary Eyes on the Prize. A book called Challenge and Change: The Story of Civil Rights Activist C.T. Vivian was written about him.
C. T. Vivian Leadership Institute
In 2008, Vivian started the C. T. Vivian Leadership Institute, Inc. (CTVLI). Its goal was to create strong leaders in Atlanta. In 2008, the city turned off the water at Morris Brown College. This is a Historically Black College or University. The CTVLI started a campaign called "Yes, We Care." They helped raise over $500,000 for the college. This money helped save the college and get the water turned back on.
In 2018, Vivian gave his collection of 6,000 books to the National Monuments Foundation. These books were mostly about the Black experience. The books will be part of the C.T. Vivian Library. This library will be inside a large column at Rodney Cook Sr. Park in Atlanta.
Later Life and Legacy
On August 8, 2013, President Barack Obama gave Vivian the Presidential Medal of Freedom. This is one of the highest awards a civilian can receive in the United States.
C. T. Vivian passed away on July 17, 2020, in Atlanta. He was almost 96 years old. He died on the same day as his friend and fellow activist, John Lewis. Vivian was the first Black person who was not an elected official to lie in state at the Georgia State Capitol. He was buried in Westview Cemetery in Atlanta.
Works
See also
- List of civil rights leaders
- James Parks Morton Interfaith Award
