ATLANTA (AP) – The nation will pay its final respects Thursday to the Rev. C.T. Vivian, a pioneer of the civil rights movement who helped end segregation across the South and left an enduring imprint on U.S. history. The funeral for Vivian is set for 11 a.m. Thursday at Providence Missionary Baptist Church in Atlanta. Vivian died Friday in Atlanta at age 95. Vivian began organizing sit-ins against segregation in Peoria, Illinois, in the 1940s. He later joined forces with the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and organized the Freedom Rides across the South to halt segregation.
