Rev. C.T. Vivian, a civil rights leader who worked closely with Martin Luther King Jr., died Friday morning of natural causes in his Atlanta home at the age of 95.
Born in 1924 in Missouri, Vivian became a prominent figure through his efforts in civil rights work that began with his first sit-in demonstration in the 1940s in Peoria, Illinois.
He went on to help organize Freedom Rides to integrate buses in the South and train activists in how to engage in issues through peaceful protests in addition to helping to register black voters in Selma, Alabama, a city at the center of the marches for civil rights in the 1960s.
“He has always been one of the people who had the most insight, wisdom, integrity, and dedication,” Andrew Young, who also worked alongside King Jr., told the Associated Press.
Vivian’s friend and business partner, Don Rivers, said he had suffered a stroke two months ago, appeared to recover, but then seemed to stop eating.
“He’s such a nice, gentle, courageous man,” Rivers said, adding that Vivian’s motivations were not monetary and that he was always “giving, giving, giving.”
Vivian was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2013 by President Barack Obama. Even in recent years toward the end of his life, Vivian continued to advocate for justice and equality by speaking to students about his experiences.
