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PROPOSED RESOLUTION
HONORING THE LIFE OF REVEREND C.T. VIVIAN
WHEREAS, Cordy Tindell (C.T.) Vivian was born on July 30, 1924 in Boonville, Missouri; and
WHEREAS, As a young boy he and his mother migrated to Macomb, Illinois, where he attended Lincoln Grade school, and Edison Junior High School and later graduated from Macomb High School in 1942 and attended Western Illinois University where he worked as the sports editor for the school newspaper; and
WHEREAS, C.T. Vivian’s first professional job was in 1947 as a recreation director for the Carver Community Center in Peoria, Illinois, where he participated in his first non-violent protest, a lunch counter sit-in; and
WHEREAS, Reverend Vivian’s strong religious upbringing, received his calling into the ministry in 1955 with the help of his church. He enrolled in the American Baptist Theological Seminary now called the American Baptist College in Nashville, Tennessee the same year; and
WHEREAS, In 1959, Rev. C.T. Vivian along with various students from American Baptist College organized a systematic nonviolent sit-in campaign at local lunch counters. On April 19, 1960, 4000 demonstrators peacefully walked to Nashville’s City Hall to discuss racial discrimination. As a result of that walk, the Mayor publicly agreed that racial discrimination was morally wrong. He would later become the director of national affiliates for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, where he led a group of people to register to vote in Selma, Alabama; and
WHEREAS, Rev. Vivian helped found the Nashville Christian leadership Conference. In 1961 Rev. Vivian participated in Freedom Rides, working alongside Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. as the National Director of affiliates for the Southern Christian leadership Conference. During the summer following the Selma Voting Rights movement Rev. Vivian conceived and directed an education program, Vision and put 702 Alabama students in college with scholarships. Years later, the US Department of Education used his Vision program as a model to create Upward Bound, which was designed to improve high school and college graduation rates for student in underserved communities; and
WHEREAS, Vivian would move to Atlanta in 1970 to create the Black Action Strategies and Information Center (BASICS), a consultancy on multiculturism and race relations; and
WHEREAS, Rev. Vivian continued to speak publicly around the world including the United Nations. It was in 2013 that President Barack Obama awarded Rev. C.T. Vivian the highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom; and
WHEREAS, Rev. Vivian passed away on July 17, 2020; and
WHEREAS, He is survived by daughters Kira Vivian, Denise Morse, Anita and son Mark.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT PROCLAIMED, ,that the President and the Cook County Board of Commissioners, on behalf of the residents of Cook County, hereby offer its deepest condolences and most heartfelt sympathy to the family of NAME and honor the life and memory of this outstanding Cook County resident.
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