Funeral for civil rights leader C.T. Vivian set for Thursday

July 20 (UPI) -- A private funeral for civil rights champion and Rev. C.T. Vivian will be held in Atlanta Thursday, family members said.

The funeral will be held at the Providence Mission Baptist Church, at 11 a.m. EST.

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the service will be open only to family but will be streamed online.

Vivian, 95, who worked for decades with Martin Luther King Jr., Rep. John Lewis and other activists in the South at the height of the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s, died Friday.

"The family is heartbroken at the loss of our father, but proud of his life-long work to free America from its tradition of racism, hate and violence," Vivian's family said in a statement. "He loved all mankind and will be missed."

An African-American Baptist minister and one of King's staunchest supporters, Vivian helped run the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and organized non-violent campaigns against segregation.

Vivian organized protests, oversaw non-violence training, conducted voter registration drives and worked on community development projects.