The Reverend Dr. C.T. Vivian grew up in Macomb, and went on to become one of the leaders of the American Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and ‘60s.
Vivian was also an art collector, and some of those works can now be seen at the Macomb Arts Center, 25. E. Side Square.
The exhibit, “Select Works from the Art Collection of C.T. Vivian,” will remain on display through September 14.
The works were unveiled during a public reception on July 30, which was the centennial of Vivian’s birth. Members of his family and community members filled the arts center for the birthday celebration.
“When we pulled up and I saw the line out the door, I was like, wow!” said Al Vivian.
“What I love is how much the community embraced dad because dad really loved Macomb. So that means a lot to me, to all of us.”
Al came up from Atlanta for the celebration. He and his siblings inherited the art collection after Vivian passed away on July 17, 2020. They each own various pieces, so this was the first time they saw the works exhibited together.
“When I walked in the door, I was like, this is beautiful! We’ve never seen it displayed like an exhibit,” he said. “It looks even better here as an exhibit than it does at home on the wall.”
Al Vivian said he misses his “great, loving father.” He said his dad was gone a lot because of the civil rights movement, but the time he spent with his family was quality time. And he always told his wife and children that he loved them.
“He would say it. He would show you all the time. And that meant a whole, whole lot to all of us in a huge way,” he said.
He said the nation could use some of his father’s wisdom about what worked during the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 60s as it grapples with racial issues today.
“The only time he ever got mad is when it was someone being mistreated or abused. That’s what made him mad. Injustice angered him,” he said.
“Other than that, he was always in a great mood.”
Al Vivian said people are still learning about his father’s work. He said during the civil rights movement, Dr. Vivian and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. created what ultimately became the federal program, Upward Bound.
But he said his father never played up his accomplishments and contributions – he just wanted things to get done.
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