Dean of The Civil Rights Movement: The Impact of Reverend Dr. Joseph Lowry
Reverend Dr. Joseph Lowry, a native of Huntsville, was known as the Dean of the Civil Rights Movement. Often when we think about the civil rights movement, we think about trailblazers like Martin Luther King Jr., John Lewis, and Rosa Parks who were all active participants in the Civil Rights Movement which not only fought for Black Americans’ voter rights but their right to education as well. Lowery began his civil rights activism in the city of Mobile, Alabama where he was a part of the Alabama Civic Affairs Association working tirelessly to desegregate public transportation and other public places. Reverend Lowry became a Cascade United Methodist Church pastor in 1986, where Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. worked closely with the church during the Civil Rights Movement during the 1950s and 1960s. Moreover, Reverend Lowry and Reverend Jessie Jackson constructed a march from Tuskegee, Alabama to Washington, D.C. to try and expand the Voting act of 1965.
Reverend Lowry talks about his calling to the ministry by stating “I kept waiting on that instance where God would knock me off the horse or a bicycle, you know, and lightening would flash, and, and the Lord would--a voice from heaven would say, hey, Joe, you got to go preach, you know.”[1] He continues to talk about how complicated his journey was as he believed he had been called to preach. However, Reverend Lowry became more fascinated with the art of activism through the gospel. He states “I would work with youth activities related to, not only church activities but civic activities. And it just kept nagging on me that, that, that the gospel that I became interested in couldn't, I couldn't reconcile it with the, with the life in, in the South and, and the segregation and the separation and the discrimination and the abuse I had seen.” [2].”That was an impression--as I got exposed to the gospel, those incidents and other incidents with my father and his attitude to his lying to the police about the car, you know, and all those kinds of things, those--they nagged on me.”[3] Through these quotes, Reverend Lowry talked about the multitude of traumatic racial experiences that he and his father had been through and how he these experiences have played an impact on him in his calling to the pulpit and civil activism towards Black American rights.
Pictured is Reverend Lowry Speaking at the Civil Rights Movement
Atlanta, Georgia also known as Black Hollywood in the United States was another city that played a vital role in the Civil Rights Movement. Given that is where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was born and attended Morehouse College. Carolyn Glenn, the founder of The Champion Newspaper (The Largest Black Owned Newspaper in Georgia), talks about Atlanta going through this immense growth given that Maynard Jackson had become the first Black Mayor in the city of Atlanta. This began an emergence of Atlanta being the place where Black people could succeed. Glenn states “It was amazing because, you know, the migration started. And just so many people were moving here, even when the economy was down everywhere else. And building--you'd hear on the news, the building has stopped in pla- people were still building here. Homes were still being built. Back in--I had a real estate company” [4]. Glenn states that through her sorority, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc., she could help provide services to her community. During this time in history, Martin Luther King Jr. and Reverend Lowry came to Atlanta to continue their good work.
When speaking about the concerns of the Black community, most of the time our main focus is education and the monetary success of our communities. Alice Randall, New York Times Bestseller of The Wind Done Gone, discusses how she is concerned about the achievement gap by telling a story of former U.S. President Barack Obama marching on the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama next to Reverend Lowry. During this event, Former President Obama did a speech that targeted the Joshua generation. "Be three times as good and have what you want." And when people complain about bad schools, and there are horrible schools all over this country and there's racism in the classrooms all through this country” [5]. “ and those people felt honored and not exploited, you know. [6] “But out those three hundred state police officers, roughly a hundred of 'em will be black and you know of the those from the National Guard, it's very integrated. So you are dealing with black officers and they're not going to be sympathetic to you like you have experienced before now and if you come out there with a weapon, they're going to be on top of buildings, behind buildings and there you'll get yourself hurt." [7] Through these various quotes, they all acknowledge many issues that Black Americans dealt with during that time and to this day. As I was using the Digital Archive, I specifically loved the interview of Jasmine Guy (American actor, singer, and dancer) in which she spoke about how nervous she was to perform in memory of civil rights pioneers such as Reverend Lowry and Martin Luther King, because of the strength in their legacy. "I'm sure I could pull this off in London [England], but I wanna know if I can pull it off here," [8]. The march of Washington created this revolution that has inspired so many young activists today. Honorable Mayor Sharon Pratt talks about her experience attending the March on Washington and how her sister wanted to be known to be a part of an important milestone in U.S history, “How could these many people arrive in one place without it being a problem or some kind of, you know, a riot of some sort, you know?” [9].
Throughout my research of Reverend Lowry, I learned a lot about his impact on the Civil Rights Movement that I was unaware of. Throughout the videos that speak on Reverend Lowry, there is mention of his impact whether that of his spirituality or within cities like Mobile, Alabama, and Atlanta, Georgia which were key places during the civil rights movement. Also, I believe in the importance of the education of the activists that were not at the forefront, because they have blazed such a print on American history. I know in the United States it is important to uplift and amplifies the Black voices that are turned to whispers on television and nonexistent pages in our textbooks.
Rev Lowery marching at the civil rights movement next to Coretta Scott King
Ambassador Update: Greetings, my name is Mauryce Thomas, II. I am a Psychology major from Mobile, AL. Currently, I am working on creating content on the Fisk Historymakers Instagram account that talks about important Fisk Alum and their impact on American History. My overall goal as an ambassador is to spread the Historymakers platform throughout my college campus and to grow in my research and writing abilities.
Work Cited:
Alice Randall (The HistoryMakers A2007.094), interviewed by Larry Crowe, March 17, 2007, The HistoryMakers Digital Archive. In session 1, tape 8, story 2, Alice Randall describes her hopes and concerns for the African American community
Carolyn Glenn (The HistoryMakers A2014.017), interviewed by Larry Crowe, February 20, 2014, The HistoryMakers Digital Archive. Session 1, tape 4, story 4, Carolyn Glenn remembers the growth of the black community in Atlanta, Georgia
Hazel Trice Edney (The HistoryMakers A2013.339), interviewed by Larry Crowe, December 3, 2013, The HistoryMakers Digital Archive. Session 1, tape 6, story 7, Hazel Trice Edney talks about the importance of accountability in black leadership, pt. 2
Jasmine Guy (The HistoryMakers A2012.244), interviewed by Larry Crowe, October 2, 2016, The HistoryMakers Digital Archive. Session 2, tape 8, story 1, Jasmine Guy remembers directing the opera, 'I Dream
Ozell Sutton (The HistoryMakers A2007.020), interviewed by Denise Gines, September 10, 2007, The HistoryMakers Digital Archive. Session 2, tape 6, story 5, Ozell Sutton recalls conducting mediation in Decatur, Alabama
Reverend Jesse L. Jackson (The HistoryMakers A2006.031), interviewed by Julieanna L. Richardson, March 2, 2006, The HistoryMakers Digital Archive. Session 3, tape 14, story 2, Jesse L. Jackson describes the tensions in the SCLC after Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr.’s death, pt. 2
Reverend Jesse L. Jackson (The HistoryMakers A2006.031), interviewed by Julieanna L. Richardson, March 1, 2006, The HistoryMakers Digital Archive. Session 2, tape 11, story 1, Reverend Jesse L. Jackson describes the theology of liberation at Operation Breadbasket
Reverend Dr. Joseph Lowery (The HistoryMakers A2003.185), interviewed by Larry Crowe, August 13, 2003, The HistoryMakers Digital Archive. Session 1, tape 2, story 6, Joseph Lowery recalls being called to the ministry
The Honorable Sharon Pratt (The HistoryMakers A2007.214), interviewed by Cheryl Butler, July 26, 2007, The HistoryMakers Digital Archive. Session 1, tape 4, story 3, The Honorable Sharon Pratt describes participating in the 1963 March on Washington