Oct. 6, 2013
Women of the Civil Rights Movement
By Dr. E. Faye Williams, Esq.
(TriceEdneyWire.com) - Last week, I attended yet another funeral of an important civil rights figure. Generally, when we say that, we’re talking about a man. This time, I am talking about a woman who was the spouse of a very important civil rights figure, but this figure is a woman who was referred to in the celebration as “General”—which means she, too, was in charge of something important. No matter what we read or hear at events where civil rights figures are remembered, rarely is the story of a woman of the Civil Rights Movement is lifted up.
On Tuesday, October 2, 2013, things were different. Hundreds of people turned out at the Martin Luther King, Jr. International Chapel at Morehouse College for the Celebration of Life of Evelyn Gibson Lowery. While she was the spouse of Dr. Joseph E. Lowery, she was a woman worthy of honor not only for what she endured as the spouse of a civil rights icon, but also for what she did to make ours a better world.
Among the many well-know figures turning out to honor Mrs. Lowery were Dr. John Wilson, Jr.—President of Morehouse College; Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed; Martin Luther King, III; Dick Gregory; Xernona Clayton,—Founder and CEO of the Trumpet Awards Foundation; Bernice King; Dr. Christine King Farris—Associate Professor of Education at Spelman College; Ambassador Thandi Luthuli Gcabashe of South Africa; Dr. Carlton Brown—President of Clark Atlanta University; Rev. Al Sharpton and numerous members of the National Congress of Black Women, Inc. There were wonderful messages of remembrance from President Barack and First Lady Michelle Obama, from Attorney General Eric Holder and more.
The Cascade United Methodist Church Mass Choir, Jennifer Holliday and Cassandra Davis provided great music, but I was especially moved by the tribute in song paid Mrs. Lowery by her three daughters—Yvonne Lowery Kennedy, Karen Gale Lowery and Cheryl Jo Lowery as their voices rang out with “Total Praise”—which was followed by Bishop Woodie White’s masterful sermon.
Mrs. Lowery worked in the Civil Rights Movement by her husband’s side, but she did more. She highlighted the contributions of women in the Movement who often went unnoticed. When her husband was elected to head the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), she began concentrating on the often unnoticed contributions of women in the Movement. Being passionate about the issues greatly impacting women and children, in 1979, Mrs. Lowery brought together a group of women and gave birth to SCLC/W.O.M.E.N. (Women’s Organizational Movement for Equality Now). She remained its National Convener from its inception until the time of her death. She started the first national conference on “The Survival of the Black Family”. In 1980, she added a national conference for youth. In 1981, she added a golf tournament and both events served as fundraisers for the programs of SCLC/W.O.M.E.N, Inc. Mrs. Lowery believed in the recognition of others and thus created the Drum Major for Justice Awards Banquet. She was so concerned about recognition of others that she led in erecting at least 13 monuments along the civil rights trail—and was in the process of developing the 14th monument in Montgomery, Alabama to honor Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
She addressed issues of AIDS/HIV education, GED and computer training, mentoring girls, and Christmas parties for children and seniors. Because she personally invited me to work with her on some of her programs, I’m very much aware of the work she did on voter education, registration and get-out- the- vote efforts. Just as she arranged for young people to learn their history on civil rights tours, so we must continue to preserve our history by highlighting women like Evelyn G. Lowery.
(Dr. E. Faye Williams is National Chair of the National Congress of Black Women, Inc. www.nationalcongressbw.org. 202/678-6788)