Rev. Lowery Revered as the “Dean of the Civil Rights Movement”
WASHINGTON, DC (March 29, 2020) – The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law is deeply saddened by the passing of Rev. Joseph E. Lowery. Kristen Clarke, president and executive director of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, issued the following statement in response:
“Rev. Joseph E. Lowery was a pillar of the Civil Rights Movement who honorably dedicated his entire life to fighting against racial injustice and inequality. As the founding member of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, he worked alongside Dr. Martin Luther King and was a central architect of the Montgomery Bus Boycott. He was a staunch advocate for voting rights, having participated in the march from Selma to Montgomery and, later in life, founding the Georgia Coalition for the People’s Agenda, an organization that continues to battle voter suppression today. He was a beloved and committed preacher who used his pulpit to inspire action and to promote the dignity of all Americans regardless of race. He courageously confronted bigotry in the Jim Crow South and humbly spoke up for the disenfranchised and oppressed. Rev. Lowery’s decades-long work to secure voting rights, racial justice and economic equality for Black Americans has unequivocally helped to make our nation a better place today.
“In 1997, upon retirement as the president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, Rev. Lowery stated: ‘In 1957, we saw a fire burning in the souls of Black America. Water hoses couldn’t wash it out, billy clubs couldn’t beat it out and jails couldn’t lock it out.’
“The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law extends condolences to the family of Rev. Joseph E. Lowery, including our client, Cheryl Lowery, the Executive Director of the Joseph and Evelyn Lowery Institute for Justice and Human Rights.”
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About the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law
The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law (Lawyers’ Committee), a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization, was formed in 1963 at the request of President John F. Kennedy to involve the private bar in providing legal services to address racial discrimination. Now in its 56th year, the Lawyers’ Committee is continuing its quest to “Move America Toward Justice.” The principal mission of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law is to secure, through the rule of law, equal justice for all, particularly in the areas of voting rights, criminal justice, fair housing and community development, economic justice, educational opportunities, and hate crimes. For more information, please visit https://lawyerscommitee.org.
