Civil rights leader C.T. Vin will be laid to rest on Thursday (July 23) in Atlanta, Georgia. Taking place at Providence Missionary Baptist Church, the late activist’s funeral is from 11 a.m. ET/8 a.m. PT to 1 p.m. ET/10 a.m. PT.
One of Dr. Martin Luther King’s key advisors, Vin staged sit-ins, participated in the Montgomery bus boycott, and helped organize the Freedom Riders movement.
Vin continued to advocate for equality in old age. In 2008, he founded the C.T. Vin Leadership Institute aimed at “training and educating the new generation of grassroots leaders.” In 2013, Former President Barack Obama awarded him with the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Vin also consulted Obama, Lyndon B. Johnson, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton on civil rights matters during their presidencies.
“I admired him from afar before I became a senator and got to know him as a source of wisdom, advice, and strength on my first presidential campaign,” Obama wrote of Vin in a statement following his passing. “His friendship, encouraging words, and ever-present smile were a great source of inspiration and comfort, and personally, I will miss him greatly.”