Rev. C.T. Vivian to Speak on Martin Luther King Day Posted on January 5th, 2010 by

Rev. C.T. Vivian

Rev. C.T. Vivian

Gustavus Adolphus College will celebrate Martin Luther King Day on Monday, Jan. 18 by welcoming author, minister, civil rights movement leader, and friend of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., the Rev. C.T. Vivian to campus.

During his time at Gustavus, Vivian will meet with students and faculty and deliver a public talk in Christ Chapel. While the daily worship service in Christ Chapel typically runs from 10 to 10:20 a.m., the schedule for the day will be altered on Martin Luther King Day as follows:

10 a.m.: Daily chapel service begins
10:20-11 a.m.: Rev. C.T. Vivian speaks
11-11:15 a.m.: Question and answer session with Vivian
11:30 a.m.: Classes resume with 10:30 classes starting at 11:30 and all classes thereafter pushed back one hour 

In the early 1960’s, Vivian participated in Freedom Rides, founded the Nashville Christian Leadership Conference, helped to organize the first sit-ins in Nashville, and the first civil rights march. He rode the first Freedom Bus into Jackson, Miss., and went on to work alongside Dr. King and others on the executive staff of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.

In 1970 he published a book, titled Black Power and the American Myth, and in the process became the first member of Dr. King’s staff to write a book about the Civil Rights movement.

In 1977 he founded the Black Action Strategies and Information Center, a consultancy on multiculturalism and race relations in the workplace. In 1979 he co-founded the Center for Democratic Renewal, an organization where black and whites worked together in response to white supremacist activity. In 1984 he served on Jesse Jackson’s presidential campaign. Most recently, in 2008, Vivian founded the C.T. Vivian Leadership Institute, Inc. to create a model leadership culture in Atlanta.

For more information about Vivian’s visit to Gustavus, contact Director of Diversity Development and Multicultural Programs Virgil Jones at vjones@gustavus.edu or 507-933-7449.

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Media Contact: Director of Media Relations and Internal Communication Luc Hatlestad
luch@gustavus.edu
507-933-7510

 

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