Remembering John Lewis & C.T. Vivian

John Lewis and Cordy Tindell “C.T.” Vivian both died on July 17^th, 2020.

How much do you know about them? About what they accomplished? About their persecution?

I must admit, I wasn’t very aware. I do remember John Lewis standing alongside Andrew Young and Bernice King at the coin flip of that epic football game a few years ago here in Atlanta!

But seriously though, how much did I really know about their significance and contributions?

I mean, I knew of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) and that Vivian was involved in it. But I didn’t know his role. And I knew of the Students Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) and that Lewis was chairman. But I didn’t really understand the importance. Honestly, I didn’t even know Lewis was one of the speakers on August 28, 1963, the day known as “The March on Washington” and mostly remembered for MLK’s “I Have a Dream” speech.

But after they passed and I started hearing more about them, I decided I wanted to know more. About the “good trouble” they stirred and the history of their plight for civil rights and equality.

It turns out Lewis and Vivian spent more time together than I imagined. One of their earliest endeavors together was probably the famous Nashville sit-ins. The sit-ins began on February 13, 1960, and lasted almost 3 months as protesters used nonviolent civil disobedience to demand equal access and service for black people at lunch counters and department stores.

It only took two weeks for opponents of the protests to respond with violence, and, on February 27^th, a mob attacked protesters. Images of the day are shocking. No attackers were arrested, but 81 protesters were for disorderly conduct. And when given the choice of a fine or jail, the protesters chose jail! Undeterred, the protesters returned, day after day, even as stores declared it “their ‘moral right’ to determine whom they would or would not serve.” Wow.

Is there anything you would do that for? Is there anything you believe in so strongly that you would protest every day for three straight months? Is there anything you believe in so strongly that you wouldn’t just risk going to jail over but would actually choose to go to jail to defend it?

After months of protesting, the city offered segregated areas in the stores, but protesters objected. Separate is not equal, and equality was the goal. Weeks later a bomb was hurled into the home of a lawyer representing the protesters, and still, even through all that, the protests endured until finally, on May 10^th, the stores served black customers for the very first time.

It took nearly three months of relentless civil disobedience, constant opposition to unequal access and service, and some 150 protesters getting arrested before equal access and service was finally obtained. I’m amazed at the persistence. And as monumental as the Nashville sit-ins were, Lewis and Vivian are probably most well-known for their involvement as Freedom Riders.

Honestly, I could probably ramble for hours about the Freedom Riders. And if you’re not familiar with them, I strongly recommend watching the documentary. By 1961, the Supreme Court had already declared separate was in fact not equal, but the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) wasn’t enforcing the court ordered integration in the South.

Once again, it was time for some “good trouble.” Lewis was actually one of the original 13 riders who departed from Washington D.C. on May 4, 1961. The eventual destination was New Orleans, but the plan was to stop at bus stations along the way and once again use nonviolent civil disobedience to defy the obsolete Jim Crow laws still being practiced.

Not everyone supported their mission. In fact, a group in Anniston, Alabama, ambushed a bus and even threw a bomb on the bus. Everyone was able to escape the bus unharmed, only to be beaten by the crowd. And another bus was violently attacked by KKK members in nearby Birmingham who were assisted by Bull Connor, the notorious police commissioner.

The riders eventually made it out of Alabama only to meet more resistance in Mississippi. The protesters were immediately thrown in Parchman Prison where the abuse and attacks persisted. And how did they respond in prison? They sang! That’s right. They sang songs in the faces of the officers. The movement continued even after their arrests, as buses of more people started to come from as far north as New Jersey and as far west as California. All with the goal of being put into prison in Mississippi for disobeying invalid Jim Crow segregation laws.

Is there anything that means so much to you that you would get on a bus and travel hundreds of miles for the sole purpose of going to prison? Knowing you’d endure horrific conditions? All to support someone you don’t even know?

Hundreds of people did just that. There’s even video footage of C.T. Vivian asking officers to make room for him in the police van so he could be arrested after protesting.

Another inspirational tale of the two is that of Selma. I can’t even begin to imagine what it was like standing among 600 marchers on March 7, 1965, the day known as “Bloody Sunday.”

I mean, I knew of that day. But, once again, I have to say I didn’t really know about that day. I knew of the tear gas and the beatings by police. But I didn’t know why people marched in Selma, Alabama. I didn’t realize that the town was specifically chosen for a reason.

One of the reasons it was chosen was the unbelievable voter registration suppression of black residents. Despite the 15^th Amendment passed in 1870, only about 300 of the 15,000 eligible black voters had managed to register in 1965! So the plan was to march 54 miles from Selma to Montgomery and protest the obstruction of black people trying to register at the capital.

Once again, protesters came from far and wide to join the movement. And once again, they were thrown in jail for the demonstrations. The opposition was so fierce that MLK said, “This is Selma, Alabama. There are more negroes in the jail with me than there are on the voting rolls.”

And then there was “Bloody Sunday.” And the senseless, vicious attack on protesters by police. Lewis was even knocked unconscious and had to be dragged from the scene. Once again, the protesters didn’t stop. And once again, more people came from all over the country to join in.

Thousands gathered on March 21^st to start the march, but only 300, including Lewis, could march the entire 54-mile journey, mostly stretching along Highway 80. The march lasted 5 days, and even though marchers were hopeful to bring about change, they still had moments of fear and encountered angry locals along the way.  Eventually, on March 25^th, “after walking some 12 hours a day and sleeping in fields along the way, they reached Montgomery.” It’s hard to imagine if the Voting Rights Act would have been passed that August if they hadn’t marched.

Just like with the Freedom Riders, there is so much more to say about the protests in Selma.

What stands out to you? Is there anything that, if you were denied, you would be compelled to march for 54 miles and 5 days? What would it take for you to do that on behalf of others?

One thing that blows me away is Lewis had just turned 25 before marching in Selma. He was 21 when he stepped on a bus as a Freedom Rider. And he was 19 when the Nashville sit-ins began!

That’s not meant to discount or overlook Vivian in the slightest bit for being older. Rather, it’s only to highlight how even youth can organize and mobilize and produce effective social justice.

I’ll never forget seeing John Lewis’ flag-adorned casket being drawn by a horse over the Edmund Pettus Bridge during his week long funeral procession across the country. It inspired my wife and I enough to take a field trip, to actually see the bridge in person.

We stood there trying to imagine the scenes of something that wasn’t that long ago.

It was powerful just standing there.

Picturing the people, full of courage.

So much courage.