Rev. C.T. Vivian Is Celebrated on His Birthday

Hundreds attended a birthday celebration in Atlanta for Civil Rights legend, Rev. C.T. Vivian, who was a close friend of Dr. Martin Luther, King Jr. At 95 years old, Vivian is one of the few pioneers still living with firsthand recollections of what is widely considered the greatest blueprint for engineering the historical social justice revolution known as the American Civil Rights Movement.

Congressman John Lewis who led the Student Non-violent Coordinating Committee during the Civil Rights Movement sent his regards in a recorded message.

“I want to thank you for your service, I want to thank you for standing up, sticking up, for never giving up,” Lewis said. “You, brave courageous brother, helped us stand up, to get in the way, to get in good trouble. You have made a lasting contribution to our nation and to our world.”

Vivian led the first sit-ins in Nashville and Peoria, Illinois in the 1960s, participated in the Freedom Rides, and started a student assistance program that served as the precursor for Upward Bound. He also founded the National Anti-Klan Network, the Center for Democratic Renewal, and served as the Interim President of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.  Dr. King referred to Vivian as “the greatest preacher to ever live.”

President Barack Obama awarded Vivian the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2013.

A White House citation read, “The Rev. C.T. Vivian was a stalwart activist on the march toward racial equality. Whether at a lunch counter, on a Freedom Ride, or behind the bars of a prison cell, he was unafraid to take bold action in the face of fierce resistance.”

Friends and family packed the ballroom at the Hyatt Regency for the elegant evening. Vivian’s son rounded out the tributes with heartfelt and personal praise for his father.

“I want to spell out my father’s name in words I think best describe his character, C.T. Vivian,” Al Vivian explained. “C…cool, T…tenacious, V…victorious… …and, most important, N…Nice. In spite of all he’s done, accomplished, seen, and done…he has been just a nice guy his entire life.”