THE CHARACTER OF JOSEPH LOWERY
Search Words: “Joseph Lowery” “Joseph Lowery + SCLC” “ Joseph Lowery + Martin Luther King” “SCLC + impact”
“I would like to be remembered as a preacher who tried his best to apply the moral imperatives and to help people apply the moral imperatives of the faith to the practical problems of our time, that being a loving neighbor is being a good neighbor, is being a good citizen, is being a good samaritan to whoever needs your help.”
Reverend Dr. Joseph Lowery is one of the civil rights activists that does not get enough recognition. His years of dedication to the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) and endless fight for equality and the way he used his faith to inspire others. His character is one to constantly be in awe of while watching many videos about Revered Dr. Lowery. I found pivotal moments in his life that contributed to his remarkable character.
The first event I found that was not only pivotal for his character but emotional, was his father accepting his descion to minister. Lowery describes his father as, “...A father whose sternness was sort of a mask for his own warm and kindness. And his bark was loud and tough, but his bite was soft and easy. But a hard working man. He worked from, as they say, sun up and sun down.”
He would go on in description of his father and how he worked endlessly for his wealth, “His full name was Leroy Lowery…saved enough money to go to school. Then he used it to buy more equipment and expand, and rent a bigger place for the ice cream parlor and the billiard table. Then he put another billiard table. Then he rented another store for two or three billiard tables and the ice cream parlor separate. And he just stayed that way for more than half a century… He was a self-made man.”
Lowery also discusses how his father really wanted him to go into the family business with him and the unease the two had about his career path,“My father was talking about me going into business with him. And if not, law — and I could do both. I could practice law in the town and work with him in the business as well. So I guess I was satisfied to think about going into the business with my dad. And it was later in college when I decided that, perhaps preaching was gonna knock harder on my door than business and law. When I first told my dad that, he said well, you know, okay. He says, "I got a lot down here on the corner near where our Ma Polly lived, and we could build a church, and you could preach there, and you could still go on to law school and run the business and preach on Sunday. And I said, I don’t think that's what the lord has in plan for me to do. He wants me to be a full time minister, and he was uneasy about that.”
Lowery would go on to state that after his father died, he saw the impacrt his son made in the community with his word, “Before he passed and saw my ministry and talked with the people in the community, who appreciated my ministry, the fact that I was concerned about helping people and making their homes heavenly, as well as making heaven their home. And he was very pleased with that. And so when he passed a year or two after he came down, and he passed at peace with my vocational choice….he was at peace at what I was doing, I was then at peace with what I was doing.”
Another pivotal moment I noticed within Lowery’s life was the creation and organization of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference or SCLC. “SCLC was organized in 57’ [1957]. We started having these meetings in 56’ [1956], while the Montgomery Bus Boycott was going on…somebody suggested a South-wide meeting, and we met in, at the end of 56’ [1956] in Atlanta. SCLC was organized in ‘57 [1957].”
He discusses the seats that him and other pastors found themselves in as well as his friendship with the late Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. “...And Martin [Martin Luther King Jr.] was elected president. And I believe, I was elected assistant secretary. But then we had another organizational meeting later in Tallahassee, and I was elected vice president. And I think C. K. Steele was first vice president, and I was second vice president, and Martin was president.…. But that was the beginning of SCLC and the beginning of my relationship with, with Martin, which grew of the years he--throughout the years Martin tried to get me to come to Atlanta to become executive vice president of SCLC. But I was pastoring first in Mobile.” This point about Atlanta will be revisited later on within the blog.
Lowery also follows with his own action when he became president of the SCLC, “When I became president of SCLC, one of the things I did, beginning in ‘85 [1985] I believe was to have a new march, reenact that march from Selma to Montgomery, not only to commemorate the voting rights act, but to encourage more voter registration in the country. And in ‘95 [1995] when we marched, which was the thirtieth anniversary.”
The last but I feel the most important was the assassination of his friend, Martin Luther King Jr. Lowery within his interview talks about how he received the news that his friend has been assassinated. “I was pastoring in Birmingham at that time. Martin had been to my house in March of 68’ [1968]. We were preparing for the poor people’s campaign, building up pilgrims to join in, in a march to Washington on – mule trains were going from different places, buses were going…And when he was shot, I was in Nashville for a church-related meeting….my wife and two of my children were waiting for me at the station. And I saw this terrible sad look on her face. And I knew something terrible had happened. And when I got off the train, she told me that Martin had been shot and that the TV stations were trying to reach me to have me call for calm and that kind of thing.”
He goes on to add that it was not until after the death of his friend, that he went to Atlanta. “But then in April of '68 [1968], Martin was killed. Then in June of '68 [1968], I was assigned to Central Church here in Atlanta. So I did come to Atlanta, but not--only after Martin had passed. He never lived to see me move to Atlanta.”
I would like to end the blog today with a funny quote but important from Reverend Dr. Joseph Lowery. I feel that this quotes gives a clear image of his character in the end. “Equity is pretty clear, and like the man who made rabbit sausage, you know, he ran out of rabbits. And he started using horses. And the federal, feds got on him and said, you’re misleading, he said, nah, says, it’s equal. They said, what do you mean it's equal? Said, every time I put in one rabbit, I put in one horse. It's equal, you see. Well, it, it may be equal, but it ain't equitable, and so I like the equity part of justice.”
SOURCES:
Reverend Dr. Joseph Lowery (The HistoryMakers A2003.185), interviewed by Larry Crowe, August 13, 2003, The HistoryMakers Digital Archive. Session 1, tape 6, story 3, Joseph Lowery considers his legacy
Reverend Dr. Joseph Lowery (The HistoryMakers A2003.185), interviewed by Larry Crowe, August 13, 2003, The HistoryMakers Digital Archive. Session 1, tape 2, story 1, Joseph Lowery describes his childhood memories
Reverend Dr. Joseph Lowery (The HistoryMakers A2003.185), interviewed by Larry Crowe, August 13, 2003, The HistoryMakers Digital Archive. Session 1, tape 1, story 6, Joseph Lowery remembers his father's stories
Reverend Dr. Joseph Lowery (The HistoryMakers A2003.185), interviewed by Larry Crowe, August 13, 2003, The HistoryMakers Digital Archive. Session 1, tape 2, story 4, Joseph Lowery discusses his early occupational options
Reverend Dr. Joseph Lowery (The HistoryMakers A2003.185), interviewed by Larry Crowe, August 13, 2003, The HistoryMakers Digital Archive. Session 1, tape 4, story 3, Joseph Lowery reflects on the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Reverend Dr. Joseph Lowery (The HistoryMakers A2003.185), interviewed by Larry Crowe, August 13, 2003, The HistoryMakers Digital Archive. Session 1, tape 3, story 6, Joseph Lowery discusses his Civil Rights participation in Birmingham, Alabama, early 1960s
AMBASSADOR UPDATE: Hello everyone! I hope all is well. I have officially started my second semester of my sophmore year here at Spelman. My Black History Month Contest is getting ready to go into full swing, I had a meeting with one of my judges to tweak a couple things with the contest and some dates but overall all is going well!
