Nation Mourns Loss of C.T. Vivian

By Chance Meeting

Minister, author, and activist Rev. Dr. C.T Vivian, who worked alongside Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. during the Civil Rights Movement, died of natural causes Friday, July 17, 2020 in his Atlanta home at the age of 95. He passed away the same day as fellow civil rights leader and friend U.S. Rep. John Lewis; both were two incredibly important figures in the fight against racial injustice and inequality in this country.
Hailed by Martin Luther King, Jr. as “the greatest preacher to ever live,” C.T. Vivian achieved many great feats in his life including writing Black Power and the American Myth, the first Civil Rights book by a member of Dr. King’s staff and creating and incorporating the C.T. Vivian Leadership Institute, Inc. (CTVLI) to “Create a Model Leadership Culture in Atlanta.” In the 1960’s, he helped found the Nashville Christian Leadership Conference, organized the first sit-ins in Nashville along with the first civil rights march in 1961. Vivian conceived and directed the educational program Vision, and helped support 702 Alabama college students with scholarships.
On August 8, 2013, President Barack Obama named Vivian as a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom stating, “A leader in the Civil Rights Movement and friend to Martin Luther King, Jr., he participated in Freedom Rides and sit-ins across our country. In 2012, he returned to serve as interim President of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.”
Angela Jones, publisher of The Hampton Roads Messenger and The HBCU Advocate, once studied under him and reflected on her experience. “I was blessed to be trained by Dr. C.T. Vivian during my first job after college. I was amazed by his poise and strength as he forced all of the participants in the training to look in the mirror and take personal responsibility for the unapologetic white supremacist foundation of this nation that was present then and continues today.”
He is survived by his  children  Denise, Kira, Mark, Anita, Albert Vivian, and Jo Anna Walker. Rev. Dr. C.T. Vivian  will always be remembered as one of the biggest driving forces in the progression of the Civil Rights Movement and an American hero.