How the Rev C T Vivian became a nonviolent warrior in 1965 Selma al.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from al.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
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It was raining on that February day in 1965, when the Rev. C.T. Vivian led a group of Black residents to the courthouse in Selma, Ala., to register to vote. Waiting for them was a “virulent, racist sheriff” named Jim Clark, along with his deputies and television cameras.
Despite Vivian’s passionate pleas “you know in your heart what is right” Clark refused to let them enter the courthouse. He then turned away, gripping his all-too-familiar club. “You can turn your back on me, but you cannot turn you back on the idea of justice,” Vivian told the sheriff. “You can turn your back now and you can keep the club in your hand, but you cannot beat down justice.”
Bryan Bernard, a senior at Sullivan South High School, was initially on the fence about joining the Upward Bound program at East Tennessee State University.
But it ended up being one of the best decisions heâs ever made, allowing him to be himself around people who grew up in similar conditions.
âOne of the biggest benefits for me would be the people and the community,â Bernard said. âI was really able to branch out and find people that I connected with and was able to gain support from them in school and anything else really.â
With recruitment difficult because of the COVID-19 pandemic, East Tennessee State University is seeking applications in ninth and 10th grades for its Upward Bound program, which aims to help high schoolers from low-income backgrounds, first-generation college students and students with disabilities attend and graduate from college. Activities are offered at no cost.
March 11, 3:30-5 p,m., via ZOOM
Please join the Center for Native American Research and Collaboration in a conversation with Tony Tekaroniake Evans. Mr. Evans is an award-winning columnist and reporter at the
Idaho Mountain Express, the author of two books and over 3,000 news and magazine articles. His latest book, T
eaching Native Pride: Upward Bound and the Legacy of Isabel Bond, was published by WSU Press in 2020. It focuses upon the University of Idaho’s Upward Bound program and its historical influence upon participants from the Coeur d’Alene and Nez Perce Tribes. The book is based upon extensive regional interviews and background research. Mr. Evans’ previous book,
Last year, CT’s “Race Set Before Us” series helped challenge and inform Christians during a season of reckoning, lament, and heightened interest around issues of racial justice. Join moderator Vincent E. Bacote, along with guest speakers from the original series Walter Kim, Michelle Reyes, Jamal-Dominique Hopkins, and Sheila Caldwell as they discuss how we can pursue racial justice within our theology, churches, and society.
Our Speakers:
Vincent E. Bacote
Vincent E. Bacote, PhD, is associate professor of theology and director of the Center for Applied Christian Ethics at Wheaton College. A theology adviser for CT, his books include
The Political Disciple: A Theology of Public Life and his latest,