Anniversary Dates Focus on the Work of C.T. and Octavia Vivian Nonprofit

ATLANTA, July 16, 2021 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- In the early morning of July 17, 2020 civil rights icon C.T. Vivian passed away. From that moment on, the news of his death and the story of his life spread around the world through massive media coverage. Through the tributes and acknowledgement of his role in the civil rights movement, particularly, the passing of the Voting Rights Act in 1965, he has become more widely known in his death than during his life.

A very humble leader, this intellectual pioneer in the civil rights movement made an indelible impact on humanity. In eulogizing C.T., Reverend Gerald L. Durley, Pastor Emeritus of Providence Missionary Baptist Church in Atlanta said, "His legacy will be studied, discussed, remembered, and shared for years from now, as one who never cared about or received the credit, but who always understood how important it was to organize, strategize and mobilize to accomplish the goal. In his humble, humorous, intellectual manner he transformed the very ethos of a nation and challenged its citizens to adopt a higher standard of life."

In the year since his death, interest in and appreciation of C.T. has increased dramatically. This is due in part to the national debate about voting rights for which he fought so hard and in part because of the publication of his only memoir, It's in the Action: Memories of a Nonviolent Warrior. The memoir is, in effect, a chronicle of the 20th Century struggle for civil rights. C.T. began his involvement in 1947 in restaurant sit-ins in Peoria, IL, and continued the fight by leading the movement to integrate Nashville in 1960, was a Freedom Rider jailed and beaten in Mississippi, and played pivotal roles in Birmingham, St. Augustine, and Selma before correctly identifying the North as the next battleground and moving to Chicago. Along the way, this humble, scholarly man who was never afraid of a good (nonviolent) fight also had the foresight to create the predecessor to Upward Bound, an early remote learning model, and one of the first organizations to address white supremacist groups.

As people came to know C.T. Vivian, companies and foundations have honored him by making substantial donations to the C.T. and Octavia Vivian Museum and Archives (CTOVMA), https://ctovma.org/ a nonprofit set up by C.T. himself in 2014. The original purpose of the nonprofit was to protect and preserve the 6,000-volume collection of books written mostly by African American writers collected by C.T. and Octavia. It was their passion.?
With the dream of building a museum to house this magnificent collection, C.T. was enthusiastic about the nonprofit's future. After the amazing outpouring of financial and emotional support upon his death, the non-profit, in concert with the Vivian family, sprang forth to continue to spread the C.T. Vivian story and life purpose.

This led to the reprint of his first book written in 1970, Black Power and the American Myth. An amazing discovery at the time of its reprint on the 50th anniversary of its published date was that C.T. capitalized "Black." He is believed to be the first to do so in a published work and it is evidence of his progressive and elegant approach to social justice.

Beginning with sit-ins in Peoria, Illinois in 1947, C.T. Vivian was always a leader.
In boyhood, he led his classmates to believe in the principles of non-violence. As one of the few African American students in Macomb High School, he became the president of several school clubs.?Attending college was always in the forefront of his mother and grandmother's minds and hearts. To that end, they taught him to read before the first grade, encouraged his scholarly approach to life, and his attendance at Western Illinois University where he began his college career.
He later transferred to American Baptist College in Nashville, TN with his wife Octavia and family. It was there that he led lunch counter sit-ins in the late fifties and early sixties that led to the desegregation of that city.?

Dr. Martin Luther King called him, "the greatest preacher who ever lived" and in 2013 Barack Obama presented him the nation's highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom. When C.T. passed at age 95, Obama said: "I am only here thanks to C.T. Vivian and all the heroes in that civil rights generation...The trail they blazed gave today's generation of activists and marchers a roadmap to tag in and finish the journey. I have to imagine that seeing the largest protest movement in history unfold over his final months gave the Reverend a final dose of hope before his long and well-deserved rest."

In addition to the reprint of Black Power and the American Myth, his memoir had been written in the last two years of his life with co-author, Steve Fiffer. It was important to quickly publish the amazing story of his life, and while it was sitting on an agent's desk in New York, New South Publishing of Montgomery, Alabama stepped in to get it done.

C.T.'s memoir has received media attention from coast to coast, and such luminaries as Andrew Young, Bernard Lafayette, and Dr. Bernice King, as well as his son Al, daughter Denise, and memoir collaborator Steve Fiffer have spoken to numerous groups interested in knowing more about the man. In addition, over 700 copies of the memoir have been given to graduating high school and college students in several of the cities where C.T. made a mark.

Now, as we once again celebrate his life on the anniversary of his death, the anniversary of his homegoing on July 23rd, and the anniversary of his birth 97 years ago on July 30th, July becomes the month to celebrate CT Vivian.?

His memoir, It's In The Action: Memories of a Nonviolent Warrior has surged in popularity as we approach these dates. Available through Amazon and bookstores or retailers throughout the country, this memoir serves as a guide as the nation looks to improve ongoing disparities and issues of racial injustice.?

A curriculum has been developed with his two books which will be announced in August.

The memory of C.T. Vivian will live on, but momentum for recognizing his heroic past has only just begun.?His two books will help guide the way, along with many programs to come in the year ahead.
For more information: https://ctovma.org/

Media Contact

Amanda Brown Olmstead, https://ctovma.org/, 404-653-8772, [email protected]

SOURCE C.T. and Octavia Vivian Museum and Archives