title
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, t...
Click here for full text