The Reverend CT Vivian, a civil rights veteran who worked alongside Martin Luther King Jr and served as head of the organisation co-founded by the civil rights icon, has died.
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Vivian died at home in Atlanta of natural causes on Friday morning, his friend and business partner Don Rivers confirmed to AP. Vivian was 95.
His civil rights work stretched back more than six decades, to his first sit-in demonstrations in the 1940s in Peoria, Illinois. He met King soon after the budding civil rights leader's victory in the 1955 Montgomery Bus Boycott. Vivian became an active member of what would become the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.
"He has always been one of the people who had the most insight, wisdom, integrity and dedication," said Andrew Young, who also worked alongside King.
Cordy Tindell Vivian was born on July 28, 1924.
"There must always be the understanding of what Martin had in mind for this organisation," Vivian said in a 2012 interview. "Non-violent, direct action makes us successful. We learned how to solve social problems without violence. We cannot allow the nation or the world to ever forget that."
Vivian had a stroke about two months ago but seemed to recover, Rivers said. Then, "he just stopped eating," he said.
"He's such a nice, gentle, courageous man," Rivers said, adding that the reverend wasn't in it for the money but, he was always giving, giving, giving."
President Barack Obama honoured Vivian with the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2013. The reverend had continued to advocate for justice and equality in recent years.
Australian Associated Press