Evelyn G. Lowery
Date of birth:	1927
Place of birth:	Memphis, Tennessee, USA
Movement:	American Civil Rights Movement
Major organizations:	SCLC/W.O.M.E.N. Inc. Lowery Institute
Notable prizes:	Rosa Parks Award

Evelyn Gibson Lowery (born 1927 in Memphis, Tennessee) is an American civil rights activist and leader.

In 2004 Mrs. Lowery was honored at the "International Civil Rights Walk of Fame" at the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Site, located in Atlanta, Georgia. According to the National Park Service, the Walk of Fame was created to "pay homage to the brave warriors of justice who sacrificed and struggled to make equality a reality for all."^[1]

[edit] Biography

She is the daughter of activists Rev. Dr. Harry and Evelyn Gibson, and they provided her with the inspiration that became the foundation for a lifetime of involvement in human rights at both the national and international levels. Her father served as president of the Memphis chapter of the NAACP and her mother was involved in community organizations. She attended Clark College and Youngstown University. She married Rev. Joseph Lowery in 1950. Joseph Lowery is President Emeritus of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) who worked alongside Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. during the American Civil Rights Movement, and Mrs. Lowery also marched in the historic Selma to Montgomery March, in 1965, and has re-enacted the trip several times since.

In 1979, seeing a special need for women and families, Mrs. Lowery founded SCLC/Women’s Organizational Movement for Equality Now, Inc. (W.O.M.E.N.), the sister organization of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.^[2] It was organized to champion the rights of women, children, families, and responding to the problems of the disenfranchised regardless of ethnicity, gender, age, or religion. Through that organization she has spearheaded education and mentoring programs, HIV/Aids awareness initiatives and raised over $350,000 for scholarships for high school seniors. Over the years, Lowery has also taken the lead in recognizing the contributions of fellow activists. She has moved to develop coalitions and alliances with a variety of women's groups throughout the nation and other parts of the world.

In 1980, Mrs. Lowery created the "Drum Major For Justice Award", held annually near the April 4th anniversary of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., the founding president of S.C.L.C., who wanted to be remembered as "a Drum Major For Justice."^[3] The awardees are recognized by their contributions to the cause of freedom, equality, and achievement in their professional fields. A partial list of awardees are: Rosa Parks, The Original Tuskegee Airmen, Rev. Hosea Williams, Maya Angelou, Harry Bellefonte, Bill Cosby, Oprah Winfrey, Dr. Mae Jamison, Andrew Young, Rev. Jesse Jackson, Sr., and James Meredith, just to name a few.^[4] She is also responsible for the erection of the Civil Rights Freedom Wall in Perry County, Alabama^[5] and monuments honoring movement icons such as Viola Liuzzo, John Lewis and Hosea Williams.

[edit] Footnotes

[edit] External links

• SCLC/Women’s Organizational Movement for Equality Now, Inc.
• Lowery Institute
• The History Makers: Evelyn Gibson Lowery
• Pope, Kitty, Beside Every Great Man-- is a Great Woman: Is a Great Woman, Amber Books Publishing (2005) - ISBN 0974977942