Paine College News October 29, 2012 Civil Rights Activist, Reverend Joseph Lowery, at Paine College The Paine College Chapter of the NAACP hosted Reverend Joseph Lowery in an assembly on Thursday, October 17, 2012, at 2:30pm in the Gilbert-Lambuth Memorial Chapel on the campus. The civil rights activist believes that the young people's vote will make the difference in the 2012 election. Rev. Lowery is on a mission to reach young people throughout Georgia to convince them that their vote is sacred and should be treated as such. The 91-year old retired United Methodist minister and social activist has fought against prejudice and discrimination for more than 50 years. He earned himself the nickname the "dean of the civil rights movement". The son of a teacher and a businessman, Rev. Lowery grew up in the segregated South and knew firsthand the hardships and cruelty that many<http://www.paine.edu/blog/post/2012/10/29/Civil-Rights-Activist-Reverend-Joseph-Lowery-at-Paine-College.aspx> African-Americans experienced. After completing his bachelor's degree at Paine College, he followed a spiritual calling and later earned a doctorate in divinity degree from the Chicago Ecumenical Institute in 1950. The Paine College Alumnus headed the Alabama Civic Affairs Association, an organization devoted to the desegregation of buses and public places. In 1957, along with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Lowery founded the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and subsequently led the organization as its president from 1977 to 1997. Rev. Lowery delivered the benediction at President Obama's inauguration and later was awarded the presidential Medal of Freedom in 2009. For more information on Paine College, please visit: http://www.paine.edu/ Or contact the Office of Communications & Marketing at (706) 821-8322, (803) 524-3195 or Lsuggs@paine.edu<mailto:Lsuggs@paine.edu>. SANDRA M. PHOENIX Executive Director HBCU Library Alliance sphoenix@hbculibraries.org<mailto:sphoenix@hbculibraries.org> www.hbculibraries.org<http://www.hbculibraries.org/> 800-999-8558, ext. 4820 404-520-0593 Skype: sandra.phoenix1 1438 West Peachtree NW Suite 200 Atlanta,GA 30309 Toll Free: 1.800.999.8558 (LYRASIS) Fax: 404.892.7879 www.lyrasis.org<http://www.lyrasis.org/> Honor the ancestors, honor the children.