[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 11]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 15053]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




          CELEBRATING THE 90TH BIRTHDAY OF REV. JOSEPH LOWERY

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. JOHN CONYERS, JR.

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, October 6, 2011

  Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to celebrate the birthday of 
the Reverend Joseph Lowery, one of the single most important leaders of 
the modern civil rights movement; and a close confidant of Dr. Martin 
Luther King.
  Reverend Lowery was born in Huntsville, Alabama on October 6th, 1921. 
He and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. formed the Southern Leadership 
Conference, which was the hub of the civil rights movement in the 
1960's. In addition to being the co-founder of the SLC, Rev. Lowery is 
a co-founder of the Black Leadership Forum--a broad constellation of 
African-American faith and social justice groups dedicated to carrying 
on the legacy of Martin Luther King.
  Rev. Lowery is a living legend who will remain in the hearts and 
minds of all of who have been so blessed and fortunate to know him, 
including his friends, family members, and colleagues in the struggle 
for human and civil rights. Reverend Lowery was clearly one of the most 
influential leaders of the civil rights movements. He is a humble and 
gracious man with a keen sense of humor. He kept so many of us in the 
civil rights movement motivated, energized, and hopeful regardless of 
the many serious obstacles we faced as a social justice movement.
  Rev. Lowery is married to Evelyn Gibson Lowery, who in her own right 
is a committed and dedicated civil rights activist. We wish Rev. Lowery 
and his wife Evelyn Gibson Lowery many more years of happiness, good 
health, and blessings. America is a stronger, fairer, and more 
civilized nation because of the decades of work that Rev. Lowery 
devoted to the noble cause of liberty, freedom, and social justice for 
all Americans.

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