As the nation remembers one of the foremost Civil Rights leaders in history, Wittenberg University holds its annual Wittenberg Series-sponsored Martin Luther King Jr. Commemorative Convocation at 11 a.m. Monday, Jan. 19, in historic Weaver Chapel. Civil Rights Movement leader and author C. T. Vivian will present “Civil Rights in the New Millennium.”
Hailed as a spiritual leader, social justice advocate and civil rights strategist, The Rev. Dr. C. T. Vivian is best known for his Civil Rights work with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. After working as a Christian journalist, Vivian served as the National Director of Affiliates and a strategist for every Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) organization. His work in Birmingham and Selma, Ala., was instrumental in winning the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
After leaving Dr. King’s executive staff, Vivian trained ministers and developed the urban curriculum for seminaries throughout the nation at the Urban Training Center in Chicago. He returned to the realm of seminary education as the Dean of Divinity at Shaw University Seminary, where he originated Seminary Without Walls.
Vivian also founded BASIC Diversity, Inc. (BASIC), a diversity consultancy that has been operating nationally for 39 years. Best known for its Race Awareness Workshop, which has been evaluated as one of the most effective race relations program in America, BASIC helps organizations leverage the benefits created by a diverse workforce by creating environments where people can effectively collaborate across cultural differences. In 2008, Vivian founded the C.T. Vivian Leadership Institute, Inc., to create a model leadership culture for the purpose of training and educating the new generation of grass-roots leaders.
Vivian served as National President of SCLC (2012) and currently serves as Dean of The Urban Institute at The Interdenominational Theological Center in Atlanta, Ga.
The Director of what Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. called “the best non-violent movement in the nation,” Vivian is highly respected across the racial spectrum. His honors include The Trumpet Award (2006), The National Jewish Labor Award, and The Martin L. King Jr. Humanitarian Award. In 2013, President Obama presented Vivian with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor.
Vivian will also participate in a question-and-answer session at 2 p.m., Room 105 of the Joseph C. Shouvlin Center for Lifelong Learning, 737 N. Fountain Ave.
The event is sponsored by Gil Belles ’62; Jennette B. Bradley ’74; Janet Jackson ’75; Ronald C. Woods ’69, Wendy Miller Woods ’71 and WYSO 91.3 FM Public Radio.
Established prior to the 1989-90 school year, the Martin Luther King Jr. Commemorative Convocation features an academic procession with faculty in full regalia and as all Wittenberg Series events, is free and open to the public.
Now in its 32nd year, the Wittenberg Series brings distinguished lecturers and performing artists of national and international prominence to the Wittenberg campus and Springfield community. To make special arrangements, request a Series poster, or become a friend of the Wittenberg Series, contact Nuggie Libecap at libecapn@wittenberg.edu.
