CNN’s Don Lemon, Dr. Bernice King, and others reflect on legacy of civil rights icon C.T. Vivian upon publication of his memoir, It’s in the Action
Friday, July 30th, 2021 by Suzanne La Rosa
C.T. Vivian, who died on the same day as his close friend John Lewis roughly one year ago, was celebrated this month in a program featuring some notable guests: Don Lemon, CNN host; Bernice King, daughter of Martin Luther King Jr.; Andrew Young, civil rights leader and former US ambassador; Al Vivian, son of C.T.; and author Steve Fiffer, coauthor of Vivian’s recently published memoir It’s in the Action: Memories of a Nonviolent Warrior. The Alliance of Christian Media hosted what was a truly excellent program.
This esteemed panel spoke at length on Vivian’s life story and how the activists of the modern generation can learn from his example. Considering the speakers present and the scope of discussion, we are encouraged to believe that those unfamiliar with Vivian’s story will better understand the true moral and spiritual power behind America’s civil rights movement.
This recent program culminates several months of activities sparked by the publication of Rev. Vivian’s memoir, It’s in the Action, in February. During this time, the book has been the subject of dozens of reviews, profiles, and excerpts, including in publications like the Washington Post, CNN, the Daily Beast, Associated Press, the Tennessean, and the Atlanta-Journal Constitution.
It’s also been the centerpiece of numerous other virtual and in-person programs. Coauthor Steve Fiffer has generously participated in most of them, including a quite special presentation hosted by the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum. Incredibly, timed to that event, the city of Jackson, Mississippi, declared May 26th C. T. Vivian Day in recognition of the major accomplishments Vivian made during the civil rights movement. To top it all off, that same week Peoria Public Schools voted to change the formerly named Thomas Jefferson Primary School to the C. T. Vivian Primary School.
We are deeply honored at NewSouth to have had the opportunity to publish It’s in the Action, and proud to see our book go where our friend the Rev. C.T. Vivian can no longer.