Dr. Lowery, Dean of Civil Rights Movement, to give Easter sermon at Camp C

[WestHoustonDem]

April 6, 2006

For Immediate Release

Dr. Lowery, Dean of Civil Rights Movement, to give Easter sermon at Camp Casey in Crawford

Reverend Dr. Joseph E. Lowery will deliver the Easter Sunday service at Camp Casey to a diverse group of attendees, including veterans, consumer, peace and civil rights advocates. Following the Easter morning worship, Dr. Lowery will officiate at the Third Anniversary Celebration and Prayer Service of the Crawford Peace House on April 16, 2006, at 1:00 PM in the Garden at 9142 East 5th Street , (Highway 185) Crawford, TX. All are invited. For more information visit the web site www.crawfordpeacehouse. org or call 254-486-0099.

The anniversary prayer service will close several days of activities featuring Dr. Lowery as the keynote speaker, beginning Thursday of Easter Week in Crawford. The Rev. Dr. Lowery is co-founder with Martin Luther King, Jr. of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) and served as president and chief executive officer from 1977 to January 15, 1998. Most recently, the Rev. Dr. Lowery gave the eulogy at the memorial service for Coretta Scott King. The Crawford Peace House has recently become a Texas affiliate of the SCLC.

The final leg of the 120 mile, March to Redeem the Soul of America, which began on April 1, at ExxonMobil headquarters in Irving, will conclude on Good Friday with a Stations of the Cross walk beginning at the Crawford Peace House, past the security checkpoint near the Bush Ranch. The walk finalizes at Camp Casey where peace mom, Cindy Sheehan will again pitch her tent at Camp Casey near the vacation retreat of President George W. Bush.

The Rev. Peter Johnson, one of the organizers of the March to Redeem the Soul of America, along with Consumers for Peace, said there is something fundamentally wrong with our nations' soul when rich cities such as Dallas, home to large multinational corporations such as ExxonMobil who registered record profits in 2005, still have people living under bridges. "Christ told us to feed the hungry, house the homeless and clothe the naked. That's why we must march. That's why we must go to the Western White House during resurrection week and try to redeem the soul of America."

Kay Lucas
Board of Directors
Crawford Peace House
254-853-9388
254-744-5530


Reverend Dr. Joseph E. Lowery, Background

Chairman, Black Leadership Forum; Co-Founder/President Emeritus, Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC); Chairman, Georgia Coalition for a Peoples' Agenda

Honorary Doctorate Degrees: Morehouse College , Alabama State University, Dillard University, Central State University, Miles College, Paine College , Beloit College, Atlanta University, Clark College Background: Dr. Lowery is one of the founders of SCLC (1957) and served as vice-president until 1967 when he was nominated by Dr. King to serve as first chairman of the board. In February, 1977 he was named Acting President following Abernathy's resignation to run for Congress and in 1977 was unanimously elected SCLC's third president at Ebenezer Baptist Church. Dr. Lowery has been a major leader for civil and human rights for almost half a century, some of his work includes equity for voting rights, anti-apartheid efforts in South Africa, AIDS/HIV advocacy, and many other notable causes. During the 1997 NAACP convention as a recipient of the Achievement Award, Kwesi M'Fume remarked, "Lowery is the dean of the civil rights movement," having raised his eloquent voice for a half century calling for justice to roll down as waters and righteousness as a mighty stream." A native of Huntsville, Alabama, Dr. Lowery studied at Alabama A & M, Knoxville College, Payne College and Seminary, Wayne University, and Chicago Ecumenical Institute, he holds BA, BD and DD degrees.