Honoring
C.T. Vivian
2013 Estelle Witherspoon
Lifetime Achievement
Award Dinner
Thursday, August 15, 2013
Sheraton Birmingham Hotel
C.T. Vivian will also receive, this year, the
“Presidential Medal of Freedom Award”
from President Barack Obama
Federation of Southern Cooperatives/
Land Assistance Fund
From the Chairman of the
46th Anniversary Celebration and
12th Estelle Witherspoon Lifetime
Achievement Award Dinner
Dear Friends:
Dear Friends:
It is a great honor to serve as Chairman for the Federation of Southern Cooperative/Land Assistance
It is a greatFund’s
honor to serve as C
th
th
th
46 Anniversary Celebration and 12 Estelle Witherspoon Lifetime Achievement Award Dinner
and
46 Anniversary Celebration
Annual Meeting. I have known and worked with the Federation for over two decades to promote
and I have know
Annual social
Meeting.
economic equity for poor rural communities utilizing the cooperative model.
economic equity for poor rura
The Federation’s work is exemplary in helping farmers and rural poor people become moreThe
self-reliant.
As work is exem
Federation’s
the nation’s premier African American organization, it is working across the Black Belt Region
assisting
the nation’s
premier African A
small farmers and rural poor people improve the quality of their lives by creating locally controlled
small farmers and rural poor p
economic opportunities.
economic opportunities.
The Federation’s long history speaks for itself as it has struggled through numerous crises The
to carry
out its long history
Federation’s
mission in the development of cooperatives and credit unions as a collective strategy to create
economic
mission in the development of
self-sufficiency. Importantly, the Federation’s mission also includes assisting in land retention
and
self-sufficiency.
Importantly,
development, especially for African Americans, but essentially for all family farmers. Thisdevelopment,
includes trying
especially for A
to stop and reverse the trend of black-owned land loss. The Federation is also one of the most
important
to stop
and reverse the trend o
organizations in the country on the frontline of the fight for a just and equitable Farm Bill.organizations in the country o
I thank you - the members, staff and friends - for your continued support of the Federation.I thank
Its work
youwill
- thebemembers, sta
critical in years to come.
critical in years to come.
As Chair, I offer my congratulations to Rev. C. T. Vivian, the recipient of the Estelle Witherspoon
As Chair, I offer my congratu
Achievement Award for his lifetime work for promoting Social and Economic Justice. Achievement Award for his li
Sincerely,
Sincerely,
William Nelson
Vice president, CHS Corporate Citizenship
President, CHS Foundation
William Nelson
Vice president, CHS Corporat
President, CHS Foundation
C.T. Vivian
speaking at the 1998
rally in Washington DC in support of
the Black Farmer Lawsuit
against the USDA.
(Attorney J. L. Chestnut is on the left)
Chairman
William Nelson, CHS Foundation
2013 Host Committee
Glynn Agnew
AT&T
Elizabeth Bailey
NCBA/CDF
Scott Douglas
Greater B’ham Ministries
Kurt Ely
Nationwide Mutual Ins.
Tammie Hill
Kraft Foods
Curtis Inabinett
Sea Island Farmers Co-op
Randy Jones
Randy Jones Ins.
Ellen Kurz
Kurz Family Foundation
Dr. Bernard LaFayette Jr.
S.C.L.C.
Dr. Evelyn Gipson Lowery
S.C.L.C. Women
Dr. Joseph E. Lowery
S.C.L.C.
The Honorable John Lewis
U.S. Representative (D-GA)
Carol Mugar
Farm Aid
Dr. Lawrence J. Pijeaux, Jr.
B’ham Civil Rights Institute
Louie Rivers, Jr.
Kentucky State University
Senator Hank Sanders
Alabama State Senate
Terry Simonette
NCB Capital
Chuck Snyder
NCB
Rev. Charles Steele,
President Emeritus
S.C.L.C.
Jeff Stroburg
West Central Cooperative
The Honorable Bennie Thompson
U.S. Representative (D-MS)
Attorney Faya Rose Toure
Chestnut, Sanders and Sanders,
Pettaway and Campbell, LLC
Louise Witherspoon Williams
Center for Disease Control
Musical Prelude - Safari Jazz
Introduction of Mistress of Ceremony
Mrs. Alice Paris
Opening
Mistress of Ceremonies
Dr. Carol Prejean Zippert
“Lift Every Voice and Sing”
Ms. Savannah Jackson
Welcome
Mrs. Shirley Blakley
Chairwoman, Board of Directors
Federation of Southern Cooperatives/
Land Assistance Fund
Greetings and Congratulations
The Honorable Terri Sewell (D-AL)
United States House of Representatives
The Honorable William A. Bell
Mayor, City of Birmingham, Alabama
Senator Bobby Singleton
Alabama Legislative Black Caucus
Ms. Ariella Brown
Staff Assistant to U.S. Representative
Marcia L. Fudge
Mr. Doug O’Brien
Acting Undersecretary for Rural Development (USDA)
Ms. Yvonne Curl
Nationwide Mutual Insurance, Board of Directors
Mr. Terrance Williams
President, Nationwide Agribusiness
Mr. Wilson Beebe
Chairman, Board of Directors
National Cooperatives Business Association
Ms. Joy Cousminer
President & CEO BETHEX Federal Credit Union
Mr. Randy Jones
Randy Jones & Associates, Inc.
Musical Selection - Jazz Safari
Video Documentary
Federation of Southern Cooperatives/
Land Assistance Fund
Presented by John Zippert
Introduction of 46th Anniversary Chairman
Mr. Cornelius Blanding
Federation Field Director and Special Projects
Remarks
Mr. William J. Nelson
Chairman
Vice President for Corporate Citizenship, CHS, Inc.
President, CHS Foundation
46th Anniversary Celebration
and Estelle Witherspoon
Lifetime Achievement
Award Dinner
(Flowers at Training
Center in Alabama)
Invocation
The Reverend Dr. Calvin Woods
President, Birmingham Metropolitan Chapter
Southern Christian Leadership Conference
Pastor Shiloh Baptist Church - Birmingham, AL
~ Dinner Served ~
Poetic Expressions • Dr. Carol Zippert
Anulet “Pat” Jackson Scholarship Award Video
Musical Interlude • Safari Jazz
Acknowledgment of Special Guests
Video Presentation of Mrs. Estelle Witherspoon
Mrs. Alice Paris
Tribute to the Federation
Senator Henry “Hank” Sanders (D)
Alabama State Senate
Tribute in Song
Ms. Teresa Smiley
Alabama Democratic Majority
Video Presentation of Honoree
The Reverend Dr. C. T. Vivian
Introduction of Honoree
Senator Hank Sanders
Presentation of Estelle Witherspoon
Lifetime Achievement Award
Federation Board of Directors and
Mr. Ralph Paige, Executive Director
Remarks
The Reverend Dr. C. T. Vivian
Honoree
Special Presentations
Closing
Mr. Ralph Paige
Adjournment
Jacqueline Ward, 46th Anniversary Event Coordinator
Acknowledgments: Rosemary Barnes Event Assistant; Edwanna Blanding Blackeye Productions;
Sandra Bennett, Angela Brown, Ebony Carson, Mya Crook, Jessica Foxx, Willie Foxx, John Jarrett, Mary Jarett,
Emiani Harris, Tammie Hill, Jeremy Jones, Tyler Key, Nia Montgomery, Danny Williams and Darnella Winston.
Heather Gray - Design, Jackie Ward - Editing, Barry Weinstock - Printer
2013 Recipient - C.T. Vivian
of the Estelle Witherspoon Lifetime
Achievement Award
The New School for Social Research named Dr. C.T. Vivian “… spiritual leader, apostle of social justice, strategist of the
civil rights movement ... For decades he has been in the vanguard of the struggle for racial equality in America”, as they
presented him with one of his many honorary doctorates.
Dr. Vivian is the founder of BASIC Diversity, Inc. (BASIC) a full service diversity consultancy that has been operating
nationally for thirty-nine (39) years. BASIC helps organizations leverage the benefits and minimize the challenges created by a diverse workforce by creating environments where people can effectively collaborate across cultural differences.
BASIC’s client list includes some of the most recognizable brands on the planet. They are best known for its Race Awareness Workshop, which has been evaluated as the most effective race relations program in America.
Dr, Vivian is best known for his work with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. He was National Director of Affiliates, and strategist
for every Southern Christian Leadership Conference (S.C.L.C.) organization. He truly helped change the nation: His work
in Birmingham helped win the Civil Rights Bill; in Selma, the Voting Rights Bill; and he was deeply involved in other movements such as Nashville, TN; Danville, VA; St. Augustine, FL; and Chicago, IL. Dr. Vivian had won his first non-violent
direct action movement in 1947 opening restaurants in Peoria, IL.
He is featured throughout PBS’s acclaimed documentary “Eyes On The Prize” (1987 & 2006). PBS later produced a fulllength presentation, “The Healing Ministry of the Rev. Dr. C.T. Vivian”. He is also featured as both an activist and analyst
in the series, The People’s Century (PBS/WGBH, 1998), and in the Tom Brokaw documentary “King” (History Channel,
2008).
After leaving Dr. King’s Executive Staff, Dr. Vivian trained ministers and developed the urban curriculum for seminaries
throughout the nation at the Urban Training Center in Chicago. He returned to the realm of seminary education as the
Dean of Divinity at Shaw University Seminary. There he originated and acquired funding for an original national level program, the basis of his doctoral work, Seminary Without Walls.
In 2008, Vivian founded the C.T. Vivian Leadership Institute, Inc. to create a model leadership culture for the purpose
of training and educating the new generation of grass-roots leaders inspired to mobilize a constituency. The Institute is
based out of Atlanta, Georgia. More recently, Dr. Vivian received an Honorary Doctorate from Morehouse College (2010),
served as National President of S.C.L.C. (2012), and currently serves as Dean of The Urban Institute at The Interdenominational Theological Center in Atlanta, GA.
Notable Accomplishments
• He has been summoned to provide civil rights counsel to five
(5) different U.S. Presidential Administrations (Johnson, Carter,
Reagan, Clinton, and Obama).
• Served as part of a team of religious advisors to President
Barack Obama during his successful 2008 campaign.
• He has addressed the United Nations.
• He has addressed the World Baptist Alliance as a keynote
speaker during their conference on racism in the world community. Shared the platform with former U.S. President Jimmy Carter.
• Was Director of what Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. called “The best
non-violent movement in the nation”.
• Served on an independent UN Committee on Human Rights
Education.
• In one year alone he was highlighted in three books, two of
which were authored by Pulitzer Prize winners and the other by
a U.S. Congressman: The Children, David Habersham; Pillars of
Fire, Taylor Branch; and Walking With The Wind, Congressman
John Lewis.
• Highly respected across the racial spectrum. His awards
include: The Trumpet Award (2006), The National Jewish Labor
Award, and The Martin L. King, Jr. Humanitarian Award.
• He organized street gangs in Chicago, turning gang members
away from violence, and developed a program that earned them
jobs.
• He was National Deputy Director of Clergy for Jesse Jackson’s
1984 Presidential bid.
• Has made several human rights assistance visits to Cuba and
has personally met with President Fidel Castro.
Photo: Ron Daniels, Hank Sanders, Faya Rose Toure, Rev. S. L. Harvey, C.T. Vivian at Freedom Flame Banquet in Selma
Honoring
Estelle Witherspoon
The Federation of Southern Cooperatives/Land
Assistance Fund is proud to present the “Estelle
Witherspoon Lifetime Achievement Award” to
C.T. Vivian.
The award was established in the memory of Mrs.
Witherspoon, whose dedication to the advancement of
her community and to all humanity epitomizes the true
spirit of community and cooperation.
Mrs. Witherspoon, a simple housewife and mother,
was chosen by her peers to lead their efforts to seek
economic and social justice for their community. She
helped her neighbors take the one simple resource
available to the low-income women of the community quilt-making - and led them to local, state and national
prominence.
The leadership skills honed and exhibited by Mrs.
Witherspoon led her down many avenues including
civil rights activism voter registration, and voter
education. She understood the need for the poor and
downtrodden to work in coalitions. Mrs. Witherspoon
was one of the founders of the Martin Luther King,
Jr. Freedom Quilting Bee, the Federation of Southern
Cooperatives, the Artisans Cooperative, and the
Ezra Cunningham & Estelle Witherspoon 1990’s
Alabama State Association of Cooperatives. Mrs.
Witherspoon was a tireless worker who brought her
talents to her spiritual home and led her community in
a major fundraising effort to build a new church.
Mrs. Witherspoon became recognized nationally for
her leadership ability and wisdom. Her advice and
counsel were sought by people from all over this
country who journeyed to Alberta, Alabama to sit at
her humble kitchen table. Mrs. Witherspoon was the
true spirit of love, friendship, and honor.
In recognition of a lifetime well spent, we at the
Federation honor Mrs. Estelle Witherspoon tonight at
the Lifetime Achievement Award Dinner.
Hands In The Soil
My daddy grew up with his hands
in the soil
He just needed to be amongst
upturned earth
He tilled the soil for year-round
gardens
Planting vegetables, flowers and
herbs
(The loud peppermint tea was my favorite)
His cabbage, squash, tomatoes
and cayenne pepper bushes rivaled
the roses and azaleas for color
and show
He tended vines along the fences
and myriad of flowering greenery
lined the yard and hugged the house
My daddy grew up with his hands
in the soil
And sometimes he turned up the earth
and planted nothing at all
Carol Prejean Zippert
Photo: Field at Training Center in Alabama
FEDERATION OF SOUTHERN COOPERATIVES/
LAND ASSISTANCE FUND
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46t ommu Equita
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(Board Member Helen Fields in
Washington DC)
Board of
Directors
Shirley Williams-Blakely
President
MISSISSIPPI
Daniel Bustamante
Vice-President
TEXAS
Satina James
Secretary
GEORGIA
Carrie Fulghum
Treasurer
ALABAMA
Raymond Olds
FLORIDA
Mattie Mack
KENTUCKY
Norwood Davis
LOUISIANA
Johnnie Culbreath
SOUTH CAROLINA
Helen Fields
Chaplain
AT LARGE
Ralph Paige
Executive Director
Federation of Southern Cooperatives/Land Assistance Fund
2769 Church Street, East Point GA 30344 • 404 765 0991
www.federation.coop
2013 Annual Meeting
Supporters
CHS Foundation
NCB
USDA-Rural Development
FARM AID
Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co
Alabama Power
USDA-NRCS
Co-Bank
AT&T
USDA-APHIS
NCB Capital Impact
USDA Forest Service / S&PF
National Cooperative Business Association
SARE
Sharing, Inc.
Agricultural Safety & Health Council of America
Alabama Council of Human Relations
Alcorn State University
Birmingham Civil Rights Institute
Black Belt Community Foundation
Cabot Creamery Cooperative
Cooperative Business International
CUNA
Eckels Farm
Farm Credit
Farm Service Agency - AL
Greenetrack, Inc.
Land ‘O Lakes
Martin, Harps and Syphoe, Inc.
Mondelēz Global LLC
National Council Farmers
NRECA
Rabobank
SC Sea Island Farmers Cooperative
Twin Pines Cooperative Foundation
University of Georgia – Griffin Campus
USDA- NASS
USDA-NRCS-AL
Alabama State Association of Cooperatives
Georgia State Association of Cooperatives
Mississippi Association of Cooperatives
Kentucky Minority Farmer’s Asosciation
Individuals
Liz Bailey
Hundley Batts
Wilson Beebe
Jeanetta Britt
Attorney Ray Carpenter
Mrs. Edward Cline
Rudolph Cline
Joy Cousminer
Regina Edwards
Judge John H. England Jr.
Phil Fraas
Myeisha Hutchinson
Joyce James
Moises Loza
Larry Mitchell
Russ C. Notar
Jessica G. Nembhard
Ralph and Bernice Paige
Mark Ritchie
Quinton Robinson
Mary Ann Rothman
Dr. Fred Seaman
Rep, Terri Sewell (D-AL)
Melbah Smith
Brian and Ellen Spears
Jeff & Nancy Stroburg
Marnie Thomas
Jill Long Thompson
T. Rocky Wade
Elandria Williams
Ed Whitfield