The family of late civil rights icons Joseph and Evelyn Lowery have gifted a priceless collection of official and personal papers, photographs, documents, writings, speeches, notes, travel diaries, and other mementos to Morehouse College. The Joseph Echols Lowery and Evelyn Gibson Lowery Collection includes over 400 linear feet of invaluable materials chronicling the Lowerys’ work with civil and human rights leaders.
The collection will be archived and curated at the Atlanta University Center (AUC) Robert W. Woodruff Library and used to provide scholars, researchers, students, and the general public with an authentic understanding of the impact, sacrifice, and legacy of these civil rights pioneers. Clark Atlanta University — home of the Joseph and Evelyn Lowery Institute for Justice and Human Rights — will have exhibition rights.
Rev. Dr. Joseph Lowery, called the “dean of the civil rights movement,” helped create the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) and served as founding vice president alongside founding president Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. He later served as SCLC chairman.
Evelyn Gibson Lowery was a civil rights pioneer and change agent. She established SCLC/ W.O.M.E.N (Women’s Organizational Movement for Equality Now, Inc.), which instituted programs on global issues including HIV/AIDS, computer and GED education for women, mentoring for girls, and civil rights history.
“No discussion about civil rights in America will ever be complete without referencing the contributions of Joseph and Evelyn Lowery,” said David A. Thomas, president of Morehouse College. “We are eager to work with Clark Atlanta University, where the Lowery Institute is housed, and other AUC institutions to ensure that the Lowerys’ transformative work is not only remembered, but also used to inspire, educate, and empower future generations of change agents.”
