An exhibit at Macomb city hall focuses on the early years in the life of the civil rights leader the Rev. Dr. C.T. Vivian, who grew up in the western Illinois community.
“We wanted to show how Vivian launched his career and show how Macomb sends him on his way,” said Tim Roberts, Chair of the Western Illinois University Department of History.
Roberts assigned a class of 10 students to create the exhibit, which was previously displayed at Morgan Hall on the WIU campus.
Natalie Gibson, who graduated in December with a double major in history and anthropology, led the project.
“His launching off point was in Macomb, where he faced racism in his own community where he grew up,” Gibson said. “It’s really important to show where he started and what inspired him to go on to work as a civil rights leader.”
Gibson hopes people who view the exhibit come away inspired by Vivian’s ability to take advantage of the opportunities that were available to him.
“It’s a good thing to remember that even in a small town in Illinois, in the middle of nowhere, among the all cornfields, someone like him can make a difference on the national stage,” Gibson said.
She said he was able to get a good education in Macomb and go on to do something big.
Gibson grew up in Illinois, but was not familiar with Vivian until she came to WIU.
“It really was that mural on the square that was my first exposure to him,” she said. “He was not one of the civil rights leaders that got taught in high school when learning about the civil rights movement.”
The exhibit will remain on display on the first floor of Macomb city hall at least through the end of February, which is Black History Month. Roberts said it will eventually be returned to Morgan Hall.
A brief biography
Vivian was born on July 30, 1924 in Howard County, Mo. His family moved to Macomb when he was still young because the city’s schools were integrated.
“His mother and grandmother saw this great opportunity for Vivian to better himself as he grew up,” Gibson said.
She said they were also attracted to the idea of raising him in a college town.
Roberts said the exhibit demonstrates how the decisions made by a family can put their children on a path to broaden their horizons.
“Their decision-making made a difference. I think that’s really motivational,” Roberts said.
According to the C.T. Vivian Foundation, after leaving Macomb, Vivian helped integrate a cafeteria in Peoria in 1947, his first non-violent, direct-action movement.
Vivian met the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in 1959, and worked alongside the civil rights leader during the 1960s.
Vivian received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Barack Obama in 2013.
Vivian died in Atlanta on July 17, 2020.
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