Monroe Dispatch - No Struggle, No Progress

Civil Rights Activist Reverend Dr. Joseph E. Lowery died Friday, March 27, 2020, in Atlanta, GA. Rev. Dr. Lowery was considered the Dean of the Civil Rights Movement, having served alongside Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and many other figures. Born in Huntsville, AL, in October of 1921, Lowery grew up in the south, where there was much racial disfunction. He himself was a victim of a police brutality incident that shaped his perspective. His future work would reflect his experience and perspective. He graduated college Paine College and went on to attend Payne Theological Seminary, and then received his Doctor of Divinity degree from Chicago Ecumenical Institute. In the 1950s, he headed the Alabama Civic Affairs Association, who began the movement to desegregate buses and public accommodations, along with other civil rights advocacy projects. In 1965 Dr. King picked Lowery to serve on a special delegation to oversee the march from Selma-to-Montgomery. He is also noted to have co-founded the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and served as the organization's leader from 1977 to 1997. He additionally lent his voice to protest against Apartheid in South Africa. Dr. Lowery has received numerous awards and honors, including receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama in 2009. He will be greatly missed by those who admired his voice, work, and life.