Evelyn Lowery, champion of human/women’s rights, succumbs

7th October 2013   ·   0 Comments

By David Stokes and Hazel Trice Edney
Contributing Writers

(TriceEdneyWire.com) — America’s civil rights community was in mourning last week upon the death of Evelyn Gibson Lo­wery, 88, wife of civil rights leader Rev. Joseph Lowery, who was a heroine in her own right.

“My beloved Evelyn was a spe­cial woman whose life was committed to service, especially around issues of empowering women. She was a wonderful mother and wife, and I thank God that she didn’t suffer any pain, and that I was blessed having her as my partner, my confidante and my best friend for close to 70 years,” Rev. Lowery said in an article published by the Atlanta Inquirer. “I will miss her each and every day, but as a man of faith, I know that she is with her God. My entire family has been overwhelmed by the continuous outpourings of love, support and prayers that have come from across the country, and we ask for your continued prayers over the next few days.”

Mrs. Lowery, founder and board chair of SCLC/WOMEN (Women’s Organizational Movement for Equality Now), Inc., died Thursday, Sept. 26, while resting at their southwest Atlanta home after suffering a massive stroke. She had left a local hospital after doctors asserted there was nothing more medically that could be done for her.

The schedule of events to celebrate her life and legacy this week included a public viewing on Monday, Sept. 30, from 11 a.m. to 9 pm. at Cascade United Methodist Church, 3144 Cascade Road in Atlanta. The homegoing celebration was slated for Wednesday, Oct. 2, in the Martin Luther King Jr. International Chapel at Morehouse College.

The outpouring of statements in her memory began immediately upon the news of her death.

“Evelyn, the beloved wife of Rev. Dr. Joseph Lowery impacted numerous lives,” said Barbara Arnwine, president and executive director of the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. “She held a deep passion for empowering women and was a staunch advocate for women, children and families. Against many odds, she, and her husband, Rev. Lowery, were indeed leaders and foot soldiers in the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s, 1960s and beyond. Unafraid and unbowed, they fought together for justice and equality during some of the most tumultuous times in Alabama, marched for voting rights as Selma to Montgomery March participant, and were arrested for protesting against South African Apartheid and the dumping of toxic waste in North Carolina.”

Roslyn M. Brock, Chairman of the NAACP board of directors, said, “Evelyn Lowery’s leadership was essential to the longevity and power behind the movement for equality. Ms. Lowery was a drum major for justice in her own right. Her spirit lives on in the initiatives she founded and in the activists she mentored across the nation.”

NAACP President/CEO Ben Jealous said, “Ms. Lowery’s foresight and leadership pushed the envelope of what organizations like the SCLC and the NAACP could do for women and families. Her legacy lives on in the coalitions she built and the strong foundation she laid. She was a hero and will be truly missed.”

Melanie L. Campbell, convener of the Black Women’s Roundtable, described her as a “visionary founder and leader of the SCLC W.O.M.E.N., devoted wife and partner of Dr. Joseph E. Lowery, mother and a mentor to countless women and girls across the country.”

Campbell, also president/CEO of the National Coalition on Black Civic Participation, stressed that Mrs. Lowery’s work focused largely on women, but was on behalf of people across the nation.

“The nation has lost a great leader and advocate for civil rights, women’s rights, human rights and social justice for all people…We will ‘never forget to remember’ Mrs. Evelyn Gibson Lowery’s legacy by continuing to do the work every day fighting for the empowerment of women and girls to achieve equal rights economically, educationally and politically now and for future generations.”

For more than five decades, Mrs. Lowery assisted in advancing the cause of women and the African-American family unit, in particular, as well as mankind, in general, alongside her husband within the Civil Rights Movement’s era that began in 1955 Alabama. Throughout the ’50s, ’60s and ’70s, Mrs. Lowery championed the cause and promoted women’s rights within the movement, as well as worked alongside her husband with the Atlanta-based Southern Christ­ian Leadership Conference (SCLC), co-founded by Rev. Lowery, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and others.

Although SCLC/WOMEN, Inc. was formed in 1979, Mrs. Lowery, 16 years later in 1995, led in the rehabilitation of the present SCLC/WOMEN’s headquarters where she coordinated various programs and initiatives to benefit women and the family unit, as well as remember stalwart activists who rendered the ultimate sacrifice for the cause of justice and equality within the movement. Mrs. Lowery will be remembered as the champion and creator of several signature initiatives, including SCLC/WOMEN’s annual “Drum Major for Justice” awards dinner, held every April 4, in commemoration of the life and legacy of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., to recognize individuals of various professions carrying out the objectives of Dr. King of justice, equality and peace.

The annual awards dinner was initially presented in 1980. Another annual event was the Evelyn Gibson Lowery African-American Civil Rights Heritage Tour, held every first weekend in March. The Heritage Tour is a weekend junket by students, led by Mrs. Lowery, to learn of various civil rights sites throughout Alabama in which activists held to advance the cause of freedom and justice, as well as acknowledge those activists who rendered their lives which ultimately led to the historic Voting Rights Act of 1965.

In January 1998, as her husband retired as the longest serving president/CEO of SCLC, Mrs. Lowery remained on guard as SCLC/WOMEN’s leader, ready to continue the work “that was left to do. There is much more to be accomplished; so many successes have taken place over the years, yet, so many more are still coming. We must remain on course, stand and work vigilantly, and witness the rewards of our labor for the cause of freedom, justice and peace,” Mrs. Lowery said at the time.

Mrs. Lowery, age 88, was the mother of Yvonne, Karen, Cheryl, respectively, as well as a loving grandmother and great-grandmother. She was also known as a friend to all who supported and worked for the cause of peace, justice and equality.

This article originally published in the October 7, 2013 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.