Rev. C.T. Vivian
President
SCLC (Southern Christian Leadership Conference)
Civil Rights Icon
Rev. C. T. Vivian is a living legend of the Civil Rights Movement and he continues his activism today, tirelessly working for the progress of African Americans and the civil and political rights of all peoples. An uplifting speaker, he has addressed audiences in 42 states, 10 countries, and on countless campuses nationwide on the issues of civil rights, non-violence, racism and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. with whom he worked for many years.
A Baptist minister, his first use of non-violent direct action was in 1947, to end Peoria’s segregated lunch counters. Later he founded the Nashville Christian Leadership Conference, organizing the first sit-ins there in 1960 and the first civil rights march in 1961. Rev. Vivian was a rider on the first “Freedom Bus” into Jackson, Mississippi, and went on to work along-side Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on his Executive Staff in Birmingham, Selma, Chicago, Nashville. the March on Washington; Danville, Virginia; and St. Augustine, Florida. During the summer following the Selma Movement, Rev. Vivian conceived and directed an educational program, Vision, and put 702 Alabama students in college with scholarships. The program later became Upward Bound.
Rev. Vivian has been featured as an activist and an analyst in the civil rights documentary, “Eyes on the Prize,” and has been featured in a PBS special, “The Healing Ministry of Dr. C. T. Vivian.” He has made numerous appearances on “Oprah” as well as the “Montel Williams Show” and “Donahue.” Rev. Vivian is the focus of the biography, Challenge and Change by Lydia Walker and he is author of Black Power and the American Myth, which was an Ebony Book Club Selection.
His leadership positions have included: Chairman of the Southern Organizing Committee Education Fund, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) the Black Action Strategies and Information Center (BASIC), and the Center for Democratic Renewal.
An eloquent and inspiring speaker, Rev. Vivian continues to speak out for racial justice and democracy.
Find complete information on the Global Dignity Forum and the HOPE Global Financial Dignity Summit here.
John Hope Bryant is a thought leader, founder, chairman and CEO of Operation HOPE and Bryant Group Companies, Inc. Magazine/CEO READ bestselling business author of LOVE LEADERSHIP: The New Way to Lead in a Fear-Based World (Jossey-Bass), the only African-American bestselling business author in America, and is chairman of the Subcommittee for the Under-Served and Community Empowerment for the U.S. President’s Advisory Council on Financial Capability, for President Barack Obama. Mr. Bryant is the co-founder of the Gallup-HOPE Index, the only national research poll on youth financial dignity and youth economic energy in the U.S. He is also a co-founder of Global Dignity with HRH Crown Prince Haakon of Norway and Professor Pekka Himanen of Finland. Global Dignity is affiliated with the Forum of Young Global Leaders and the World Economic Forum. Mr. Bryant serves on the board of directors of Ares Commercial Real Estate Corporation, an NYSE Euronext publicly traded company, and a division of $54 billion Ares Capital.