Chattanooga Times Free Press

The Rev. C.T. Vivian remembered as courageous civil rights warrior

- BY JEFF MARTIN

ATLANTA — The nation paid its final respects Thursday to the Rev. C.T. Vivian, a pioneer of the Civil Rights Movement who helped end segregatio­n across the South and left an abiding imprint on U.S. history.

Vivian, a close ally of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., was mourned by civil rights icons along with TV personalit­y and author Oprah Winfrey, baseball legend Hank Aaron and others during a funeral at Providence Missionary Baptist Church in Atlanta. Vivian died July 17 at age 95.

“C.T. was truly a remarkable man, a man whose physical courage was exceeded only by his moral courage, whose capacity for love overwhelme­d incredible hatreds, whose faith and the power of nonviolenc­e helped forever change our nation,” former Vice President Joe Biden said in a video tribute aired during the service.

“In Illinois, and in Tennessee and Florida, and Mississipp­i — in the north and in the south — CT was there fighting to turn us back toward justice,” Biden added.

Vivian’s death came the same day as the passing of another civil rights icon, U.S. Rep. John Lewis, 80. In 1965, Alabama state troopers beat Lewis in Selma, Alabama, helping to galvanize national opposition to racial segregatio­n. Details of Lewis’ funeral have yet to be announced.

At Vivian’s funeral in Atlanta on Thursday, many of those who eulogized Vivian described him as a courageous soldier for God and civil rights who always remained humble.

“He didn’t want attention, he didn’t want money, he only wanted to do God’s will and bring out the best in these United States of America and its people regardless of their race, creed, color or national origin,” Ambassador Andrew Young said in his videotaped remarks.

Vivian’s preaching was described as “an echo from heaven” by civil rights activist Bernard Lafayette.

But it was his work during the Civil Rights Movement and the decades that followed that left an impression on Winfrey. She worked with Vivian on a series of racial seminars that aired on her TV show in the 1990s, she recalled in her video tribute during the funeral.

“In his presence we were always learning more about our country, about ourselves, about what it means to stand for what is right,” Winfrey said. “He was a giant for justice.”

 ?? ALYSSA POINTER/ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTI­ON VIA AP ?? A horse-drawn carriage is followed by supporters as it carries the body of C.T. Vivian down Capital Avenue SW toward the historic Sweet Auburn District in Atlanta on Wednesday. Vivian’s body laid in state in the rotunda of the building to celebrate his life.
ALYSSA POINTER/ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTI­ON VIA AP A horse-drawn carriage is followed by supporters as it carries the body of C.T. Vivian down Capital Avenue SW toward the historic Sweet Auburn District in Atlanta on Wednesday. Vivian’s body laid in state in the rotunda of the building to celebrate his life.

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