C.T. Vivian Foundation Programs
Foundation Programs are as follows:
Literacy
Learn to Read: We partner with middle schools to improve reading proficiency among students below grade level. By providing resources tailored to each school’s specific needs—utilizing books, tutoring, and technology—we ensure students receive the support necessary to close literacy gaps.
Love to Read: At the high school level, we collaborate with English and media specialists to foster a love of reading. Through program development and the enhancement of existing initiatives, we encourage students to see reading as a lifelong source of knowledge and empowerment.
Octavia Geans Vivian Scholarship Program
Investing in Potential. Supporting Achievement. Continuing a Legacy.
C.T. and Octavia Vivian believed in the transformative power of education and literature to expand opportunities, inspire change, and shape the future.
Honoring their legacy, the C.T. Vivian Foundation invests in students at two pivotal moments in their educational journeys: as graduating high school seniors prepare for college and as college seniors work to complete their degrees.
NEARLY $100,000
Awarded in scholarships over the past five years
APPLICATIONS NOW OPEN
2026–2027 Scholarship Applications
Application Deadline: November 30, 2026
Explore the opportunities below and submit your application before the deadline.
High School Scholarship
Elevating Voices. Inspiring Change.
C.T. and Octavia Vivian believed in the power of literature to transform lives. To honor their legacy, the C.T. Vivian Foundation awards scholarships to graduating high school seniors who use writing to illuminate the Black experience, engage questions of justice and identity, and demonstrate how education and voice can be used to create meaningful change.
For the 2026–2027 academic year, the High School Scholarship will be a distinct competition for graduating seniors.
4 SCHOLARSHIPS × $4,000
Supporting the transition to higher education | Apply by November 30, 2026
College Completion Scholarship
Helping Students Cross the Finish Line.
The C.T. Vivian Foundation believes that financial challenges should not stand between students and the completion of their college education.
The College Completion Scholarship provides financial assistance to college seniors facing financial barriers that could delay or prevent graduation.
By helping students overcome these final obstacles, the Foundation honors C.T. and Octavia Vivian’s enduring belief in education as a pathway to opportunity, personal achievement, and meaningful change.
5 SCHOLARSHIPS × $1,000
Helping college seniors complete their undergraduate degrees | Apply by November 30, 2026
Continuing the Legacy
Whether amplifying the voices of emerging college students or helping college seniors cross the finish line, the Octavia Geans Vivian Scholarship Program reflects a shared commitment to education, opportunity, and the next generation of leaders.
Literature. Legacy. Possibility.
Your Voice Matters. The Octavia Geans Vivian Scholarship celebrates original writing and authentic student voices. All literary submissions and personal responses must be the applicant’s own work. AI-generated or substantially AI-rewritten content is not permitted. Please review the Foundation’s Originality and AI Use Policy before applying.
Originality and Artificial Intelligence (AI) Policy
The C.T. Vivian Foundation values originality, creativity, and the authentic voices of young writers. All literary works and personal responses submitted for the Octavia Geans Vivian Scholarship must reflect the applicant’s own thoughts, ideas, and writing.
The use of artificial intelligence (AI) tools, including ChatGPT and other generative AI platforms, to write, rewrite, or substantially develop any portion of a literary submission or personal response is not permitted.
Applicants may use standard spelling and grammar-checking tools; however, these tools must not substantially alter the content, language, or creative expression of their work.
By submitting an application, students certify that their work is original and complies with this policy. The Foundation reserves the right to request clarification or additional evidence of authorship. Submissions determined through a fair review process to violate this policy may be disqualified.
PAST Octavia Vivian Scholarship Program Winners
2026 Scholarship Recipients
$4,000 Scholarship
Cameron Attis-Jones
Erin Davis
Malia Jolley
Ashanti Noble
$1,000 Scholarship
Brian Abrams
Aissa Diop
Mikyli Eleby
KiMani Johnson
2025 Scholarship Recipients
$4,000 Scholarship
Jasmine Allen — Drew Charter Senior Academy
Shanise Latimore-Hill — Marietta High School
Khalil McCaskill — Tri-Cities High School
Jamiah Williams — Mundy’s Mill High School
$1,000 Scholarship
Tari Baker — Campbell High School
Kaiya Evans — Martha Ellen Stilwell School of the Arts
Raegan Troutman — Sandy Creek High School
Kayla Williams — University of Pennsylvania
Jordan Wilson — Walton High School
Aubrey Jordan-Yarbrough — Dekalb School of Arts High School
2024 Scholarship Recipients
Destiny Jackson — Banneker High School
Joy Sherman — Arabia Mountain High School
Chandler Wyckoff — Sandy Creek High School
Tia Howard — Westlake High School
Curriculum
In 2021, the Foundation launched its first Curriculum Project entitled It’s in the Action which is currently being utilized at Louisiana State University, University of Georgia, and Emory University as well as other major colleges and universities throughout the country. C.T. Vivian Foundation will also collaborate with schools to develop additional curriculum around the 6,000 plus book collection in the areas of African American history, race relations, sociology, psychology, creative writing, and English literature.
The It's In The Action Curriculum
It’s in the Action, a 16-week course tracing Dr. C.T. Vivian’s footsteps as a nonviolent warrior and American icon, explores his remarkable life, examines his work and his teachings, and asks how his example can guide us today. Dr. Vivian’s passion was to fight for social justice, economic equality, and freedom for all while staying true to the principles of nonviolence. With the current political and racial climate in America, this curriculum is not only relevant but essential for equipping our future leaders in the work of creating a more equitable America. In Dr. Vivian’s own words, “Leadership is found in the action to defeat that which would defeat you… You are made by the struggle you choose.”
The Curriculum is currently being utilized at colleges and universities around the country. Schools such as Louisiana State University, Morehouse College, Georgia State, Clayton State and Emory are teaching the curriculum with great interest enthusiasm from the students. It’s in the Action Curriculum is a living monument to a civil rights icon, an American treasure, and the man Dr. Martin Luther King called “the best preacher to ever live.”
C.T. & Octavia Vivian Literary Museum
C.T. and Octavia Vivian Literary Museum represents over 30 years of book collecting by Dr. Vivian and his wife, Octavia. Our mission is to transform this 6,000 volume collection of Black literature into a state-of-the-art interactive exhibition and programming that brings to life the rich heritage of African Americans and those of African descent through the authors, people, and characters of the books, as well as engage and inspire the next generation of social justice activists. The Literary Museum will also serve as a gathering place-in person and online—for the exchange of ideas, to engage diverse perspectives, to look for solutions, and enjoy literature not only through the interactive exhibition, but through guest authors, writing clinics and more.
Georgia Colleges Teach New Course on C.T. Vivian’s Civil Rights Legacy
Curriculum Article by American Association of Colleges and Universities
“C. T.’s journey is a roadmap of the movement itself.”
– Ambassador Andrew Young
Authors who exhibit literary excellence in the telling of the African American Experience will be honored at the annual Kaleidoscope Awards for Literary Excellence Awards Dinner. Book review editors and past Kaleidoscope Awards for Literary Excellence awardees will advise the winners each year.
We look forward to updating our supporters on the progress of these programs.
Our Supporters
