Akyla Davis stood outside the entrance of the formerly named Thomas Jefferson Primary School on Friday, surrounded by family.
With her 1-year-old son Kash nearby, Davis watched as a blue tarp fell from the building's red brick wall, revealing the school's new name: Dr. C.T. Vivian Primary School.
Vivian, an influential civil rights leader with deep Peoria ties, was Davis' great-great grandfather. He died last year.
Now, Kash will grow up to see his great-great-great grandfather’s name every day, Davis said.
“It feels unbelievable," she said. "I will actually make sure my son attends this school, just because it’s named after his grandfather.”
Davis was among four generations of Vivians to celebrate the school's official renaming on Friday.
The Peoria Public Schools Board of Education voted unanimously in May to change the name of the school at 918 W. Florence Ave. to honor Vivian.
The renaming is part of a larger effort to rename local schools linked to figures with controversial histories on race. In 2018, the schools board voted to rename Woodrow Wilson Primary School after Dr. Maude Sanders, the area's first Black female doctor.
Renaming institutions can be controversial, but this change doesn’t take away from history, said Vivian’s son, Albert Vivian.
In fact, the name change reflected a “perfect transition,” he said.
“This is us actually, as a society, living what America was founded to do, to (become) ‘a more perfect union,’” Albert Vivian said. “Jefferson was the primary principle author of the Declaration of Independence … Dad, C.T. Vivian, was the one who pushed our society into guaranteeing those rights for all people.”
C.T. Vivian grew up in Macomb and lived in Peoria during the 1940s. He led local desegregation efforts while living in Peoria, including a sit-in at a segregated lunch counter.
He later moved south and was a key advisor to Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.
C.T. Vivian valued education from a young age, said his daughter, JoAnna “Jo Jo” Vivian-Walker.
When her father was just 5 years old, the Vivian family moved from Missouri to Macomb, Illinois, so their son could someday attend Illinois Teacher’s College.
“We’ve always been taught in our family that education is something no one can take from you,” Vivian-Walker said. “In Macomb, they have streets named after Daddy. That’s an honor. ... But education … Daddy said that’s the way out. … We need education, above all.”
Vivian-Walker still lives in Peoria with her many relatives, including Davis and Kash.
Albert Vivian now lives in Atlanta and runs Basic Diversity, a diversity training and consulting firm founded by C.T. Vivian in the 1970s.
He encouraged Peorians to honor his father’s legacy by voting — and by reaching out to those who are different from them. “Our diversity is our strength,” he said.
The local school board is set to consider the renamings of five other schools named for George Washington, Theodore Roosevelt, Benjamin Harrison, Calvin Coolidge and Charles Lindbergh.
