[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 125 (Monday, July 13, 2020)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E625]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]





          RECOGNIZING REVEREND CORDY TINDELL ``C.T.'' VIVIAN-

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. JOHN LEWIS

                               of georgia

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, July 13, 2020

  Mr. LEWIS. Madam Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to my good friend, 
Reverend Cordy Tindell ``C.T.'' Vivian.
  Born on July 30, 1924 in Howard County, Missouri as the only child to 
Robert Cordie and Euzetta Tindell Vivian, C.T. grew up in Macomb, 
Illinois, where he attended Lincoln Grade School and Edison Junior High 
School. Raised primarily by his doting mother and grandmother, Annie 
Woods Tindell, C.T. was often the only African-American in his 
classroom. Make no mistake; it was not easy, but he managed to adapt, 
survive, and thrive. Throughout his childhood, his grandmother often 
instilled the values and teaching of Williams Wells Brown's the Black 
Man: His Antecedents, His Genius, and His Achievements. She believed 
that education would be his key to success and dedicated every resource 
and tool she had to inspire and encourage C.T. to stay the course with 
his studies.
  In 1942, their collective hard work and determination paid off. C.T. 
graduated from Macomb High School and continued his studies at Western 
Illinois University. He moved to Peoria, Illinois, where he met Octavia 
Geans, his beloved wife of 58 years, who worked with him at the Carver 
Community Center. I was only seven years old when Reverend Vivian 
ignited his life-long flame for equality, equity, and freedom. While in 
Peoria, C.T. completed his first act of civil disobedience in 1947 when 
he participated in his first sit-in that successfully integrated 
Barton's Cafeteria. With that social justice action, he committed all 
his energy and soul to the movement.
  A few years later, faith and fate brought him to Nashville, 
Tennessee, where Reverend Vivian resumed his studies at the American 
Baptist Theological Seminary and joined a group of other ministers in 
cofounding the Nashville Christian Leadership Conference, an affiliate 
of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s Southern Christian Leadership 
Conference (SCLC). As an undergraduate student at the American Baptist 
College, I first met C.T. as we learned about the doctrine of 
nonviolence, and the way of peace, the way of love, and the power of 
satyagraha--or truth force and nonviolent civil resistance from the 
esteemed visionary, Reverend James Lawson. Older than many of the other 
students in the workshops, C.T. was like our big brother--graceful, 
thoughtful, and inspirational. In Nashville, we formed an unbreakable, 
life-long bond as we committed our minds, bodies, and spirits to 
tearing down the barriers of hate, racism, and segregation across the 
United States and around the world.
  Throughout those pivotal years of the Civil Rights Movements, 
Reverend Vivian was on the front lines--at the lunch counters, on the 
Freedom Rides, in Parchman Prison, at the March on Washington, and in 
the fight for voting rights in Marion and Selma. If there was action, 
he was there. We, along with so many others, continue to bear the scars 
of those long days and endless nights, as we dedicated our very lives 
to bringing about a nonviolent revolution as the means to redeem the 
soul of America.
  In his commitment to ``develop future leaders and promote brotherhood 
and academic excellence, while providing service and advocacy for our 
communities,'' C.T. embodies the mission of the Alpha Phi Alpha 
Fraternity, Inc., of which he is a proud member. His fraternity 
brother, Dr. King, often remarked, and many agreed, that C.T. was the 
``greatest preacher to ever live.'' Madam Speaker, if you ever had the 
honor and privilege to witness one of his sermons, you know that Dr. 
King was right. Time and time again, Reverend Vivian gave strength when 
exhaustion felt crushing, restored hope when faith seemed expired, and 
created a path forward when every road appeared to be blocked.
  As the National Director of Affiliates for the SCLC, Reverend Vivian 
played a pivotal role in the strategy to advance and eventually pass 
the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. In the 
years since the height of the Civil Rights Movement, Reverend Vivian 
continues to serve and inspire people across the country and around the 
world. Despite the bruises and battles, C.T. maintains his commitment 
and dedication to nonviolence as the guiding principle of our mission. 
In continuing the tradition of his beloved grandmother, C.T.'s lessons 
were shared with his adored children: Jo Anna, Denise, Kira, Mark, 
Anita Charisse, Al, and his namesake, Cordy Tindell Vivian, Jr., who 
passed away in 2010. Reverend Vivian continues to preach and abide by 
the principle that ``everything done to destroy us only becomes a means 
of developing us.''
  Across the country, Reverend Vivian selflessly shares his knowledge 
and experience with others. Lovingly calling all whom he meets, 
``Doc,'' C.T. created an extended family united by shared principles 
wherever he goes. Over the decades, C.T. helped negotiate peace between 
gangs, confront systematic racism in organized labor, and counseled 
both Democratic and Republican Presidents on civil rights matters. He 
trained clergy leaders and community activists in Chicago as the 
director of the Urban Training Center for Christian Missions and 
imparted similar lessons during his tenure at the Seminary Without 
Walls at Shaw University Divinity School in Raleigh, N.C. Make no 
mistake, Madam Speaker; C.T. is tirelessly and always for the people.
  In the years after Nashville, we both managed to make our way to 
Atlanta, Georgia, the heart of the Civil Rights Movement. In our 
adopted and adored hometown, Reverend Vivian, with his late wife 
Octavia, 40 years ago founded BASIC Diversity, Inc. (BASIC) a full 
service, national consulting firm, established the C.T. Vivian 
Institute, Inc., and served as dean of the Urban Institute at the 
Interdenominational Theological Center. In 2010, Morehouse College 
honored Reverend Vivian with an honorary doctorate, and noting his 
life-long commitment to ``justice and equality,'' President Barack 
Obama awarded Reverend Vivian with the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 
2013--one of the highest, civilian awards in our country.
  Madam Speaker, as you can see my heart is full of love and respect 
for this great man--my brother and fellow nonviolent soldier in the 
movement for justice, equality, and peace. I appreciate the honor and 
privilege of sharing a few of my more than 60 years of warm memories of 
and reflections on Reverend Cordy Tindell ``C.T.'' Vivian's legacy and 
impact on our nation, people around the world, and generations yet 
unborn.

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