Lowery to receive Presidential Medal of Freedom
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The Rev. Joseph Lowery preaches at a March worship service at Brown
Chapel AME Church in Selma as part of the congressional civil rights
pilgrimage to Alabama. A UMNS file photo by Kathy L. Gilbert.
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By Kathy L. Gilbert*
July 31, 2009 | NASHVILLE, Tenn. (UMNS)
The Rev. Joseph Lowery, 87, a United Methodist pastor and leader in
the civil rights movement, is one of 16 people who will receive the
Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest honor for a
civilian.
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The
Rev. Joseph Lowery, 87, a United Methodist pastor and leader in the
civil rights movement, is one of 16 people who will receive the
Presidential Medal of Freedom. A UMNS file photo by Mike DuBose.
|
Lowery said he was especially honored to be in President Obama’s “first
class” of award recipients. The medals will be presented at a White
House ceremony Aug. 12.
"I'm really excited to be in the company of the wonderful people that
comprise the first class the president has named since he has been in
office," Lowery told United Methodist News Service July 31.
Other recipients include Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, tennis legend Billie
Jean King, actor Sidney Poitier and retired Archbishop Desmond Tutu of
South Africa.
Lowery gave the benediction and shared the inaugural platform with
Obama Jan. 20. In an interview after it was announced he would do the
benediction, Lowery said he "never imagined" he would live to see an
African-American elected president.
On that day he prayed, “Help us to make choices on the side of love,
not hate, on the side of inclusion, not exclusion, tolerance, not
intolerance.”
Lowery co-founded the Southern Christian Leadership Conference with the
Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. in 1957 and served as its president and
chief executive officer for 20 years, beginning in 1977.
King named him chairman of the delegation to take the demands of the
Selma-to-Montgomery march in 1965 to Alabama Gov. George Wallace.
Wallace had ordered the marchers beaten—an episode that became known as
“Bloody Sunday”—but apologized to Lowery in 1995 as the civil rights
pioneer led the 30th anniversary re-enactment of the historic march
that led to the passage of the Voting Rights Act.
As a United Methodist minister, Lowery was elected a delegate to
three General Conferences and presided over an annual conference as
acting bishop in 1966. His prophetic voice was instrumental in moving
the church toward the goal of inclusiveness. He served as pastor of
United Methodist churches in Mobile and Birmingham, Ala., and Atlanta,
where he led Central Church for 18 years.
Lowery said he was "stunned" when he got the call about the honor.
"I am grateful, excited, overjoyed … I wish I had more eloquent terms
to express my feelings. I can't seem to get beyond humbled and
honored,” Lowery said.
"I think that people who work without thought of reward in often
thankless tasks need to be encouraged because I have not sought any
kind of reward or recognition, yet God gives the increase and I'm
thankful for that. We need to keep on struggling because our labor is
not in vain."
*Gilbert is a news writer for United Methodist News Service in Nashville, Tenn.
News media contact: Kathy L. Gilbert, Nashville, Tenn., (615) 742-5470 or newsdesk@umcom.org.
Audio
The Rev. Joseph Lowery: "Our labor is not in vain."
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Resources
2008 Election Coverage
Walking with King
Unlocking the Future
General Commission on Religion and Race
Civil Rights Pilgrimage: Retracing History
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