Joseph Lowery

Reverend Joseph E. Lowery is a retired pastor of Atlanta's Cascade United Methodist Church and co-founder of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference along with Martin Luther King Jr. and other prominent members of the civil rights movement. Lowery performed the benediction at the inauguration of 44th U.S. president Barack Obama.

Lowery was hospitalized after a dizzy spell on March 15, 2009, and is recovering. He is expected to be released from the hospital on March 16. Lowery was the keynote speaker at service of the 123rd anniversary of the Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, but became weak and lost his balance after he had preached for about 40 minutes, and was taken to the hospital.Star-Tribune.com: Rev. Joseph Lowery, civil rights pioneer, sent to hospital in Atlanta after dizzy spell (March 16, 2009)

Lowery became involved in the civil rights movement in the early 1950s in Mobile, Alabama, where he was the head of the Alabama Civic Affairs Association, an organization working for desegregation of buses and public places. He formed the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) in 1957, together with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Lowery was named vice president. He is the co-founder and former president of the Black Leadership Forum, a consortium of black advocacy groups. The forum started protesting apartheid in South Africa in the mid-1970s and continued until the election of Nelson Mandela.The HistoryMakers: Rev. Joseph Lowery Biography

Lowery was chosen by Barack Obama to deliver the benediction at his January 20, 2009, inauguration ceremony. Soul singer Aretha Franklin and evangelical preacher Rick Warren also be participated in the event.

From Benediction: "We ask you to help us work for that day when black will not be asked to give back, when brown can stick around, when yellow will be mellow, when the red man can get ahead, man, and when white will embrace what is right."CNN: Lowery delivers benediction at inaugural ceremony (January 20, 2009)

"I'm very proud that people across this country, even in Southern states, chose to vote for an African-American. That's the sign of real progress, and I'm so grateful that I lived long enough to see it come to pass."National Public Radio: Civil Rights Icon To Deliver Inaugural Benediction (January 15, 2009)

"I hope that in my closing prayer, I can find a way to inspire people to take that spirit, that warmth—that feeling of conviviality and brotherhood—and take it with us back down into the valley."National Public Radio: Civil Rights Icon To Deliver Inaugural Benediction (January 15, 2009)