C.T. Vivian awarded Medal of Freedom
Calling him a champion for “greater justice and equality,” President Barack Obama presented Atlantan C.T. Vivian with the Presidential Medal of Freedom today in a White House ceremony in the East Room.
Obama said that in America’s quest for civil rights in the 1940s through the 1960s, “time and again Rev. Vivian was among the first to go in.”
“And now, at the age of 89, he is still in the action, pushing us closer to our national goals” Obama said.
Along with Vivian, Bayard Rustin, who helped organize the 1963 March on Washington and later pushed for gay rights, was also recognized for his civil rights work, albeit posthumously.
They were joined by 14 other recipients, including women’s rights advocate Gloria Steinem, media mogul Oprah Winfrey, baseball hall-of -famer Ernie Banks, newspaper editor Ben Bradlee and former President Bill Clinton.
“These are the men and women whose lives remind us of the beauty of the human spirit,” Obama said.
Following the ceremony, Vivian and the other honorees were quickly rushed to a reception with the president and First Lady Michelle Obama.
A party of about 15 friends and family attended the event with Vivian.
“He is such a humble man. So what this does is create a situation for him to do more work in the community,” said Don Rivers, a longtime aide of Vivian’s. “He is such a community servant, activist and servant.”
About the Author
Ernie Suggs is an enterprise reporter covering race and culture for the AJC since 1997. A 1990 graduate of N.C. Central University and a 2009 Harvard University Nieman Fellow, he is also the former vice president of the National Association of Black Journalists. His obsession with Prince, Spike Lee movies, Hamilton and the New York Yankees is odd.
