[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 17 (Monday, February 2, 2015)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E144]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                            DR. C.T. VIVIAN

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. G. K. BUTTERFIELD

                           of north carolina

                    in the house of representatives

                        Monday, February 2, 2015

  Mr. BUTTERFIELD. Mr. Speaker, today it is with great pleasure that I 
rise to commemorate the contributions of Dr. C.T. Vivian, a public 
servant and passionate leader in the civil rights movement who has 
dedicated his life to the struggle for racial equality in America.
  Dr. C.T. Vivian was born July 30, 1924 in Howard County, Missouri and 
attended Western Illinois University in Macomb and was recreation 
director for the Carver Community Center in Peoria, Illinois. It was 
there that Dr. Vivian participated in his first sit-in demonstrations 
which successfully integrated Barton's Cafeteria in 1947.
  Dr. Vivian was a close friend and adviser to Dr. Martin Luther King, 
Jr. Dr. King appointed Dr. Vivian to the executive staff of the 
Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) in 1963, naming him 
national director of affiliates and strategist for the organization.
  After leaving Dr. King's Executive Staff, Dr. Vivian founded the 
Black Action Strategies and Information Center (BASIC), a workplace 
consultancy on race relations and multicultural training. He and his 
late wife, Octavia Vivian founded the C.T. & Octavia Vivian Archives 
and Museum in Fayetteville, GA, in 2014.
  In March 2007 at the occasion of the anniversary of Selma to 
Montgomery marches, then-Senator Barack Obama recognized Dr. Vivian in 
his opening remarks as ``the greatest preacher to ever live.'' And, on 
August 8, 2013, President Obama honored Dr. Vivian at the White House 
by presenting him with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's 
highest civilian honor.
  Mr. Speaker, Dr. C.T. Vivian remains a distinguished minister, 
author, and organizer. His historic contributions and achievements as a 
spiritual leader, champion of social justice, and strategist of the 
Civil Rights Movement have reserved his place in history. I ask my 
colleagues join me in expressing the appreciation of a grateful nation.

                          ____________________