The “Dean of the Civil Rights Movement,” passed away on March 27, 2020. Rev. Dr. Joseph E. Lowery co-founded the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and subsequently led the organization as its president from 1977 to 1997. Lowery served as the pastor of Cascade United Methodist Church in Atlanta from 1986 through 1992.

Dr. Lowery received several awards; The NAACP Lifetime Achievement Award, the inaugural Walter P. Reuther Humanitarian Award from Wayne State University, the Martin Luther King Jr. Center Peace Award and the National Urban League's Whitney M. Young Jr. Lifetime Achievement Award. Ebony named him one of the 15 greatest black preachers, describing him as, "the consummate voice of biblical social relevancy, a focused voice, speaking truth to power." Dr. Lowery was honored at the International Civil Rights Walk of Fame at the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Site, located in Atlanta, Georgia. Lowery was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by Barack Obama, on July 30, 2009. He was also given the Fred L. Shuttlesworth Human Rights Award by the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute that year.

Services entrusted to Willie A. Watkins Historic West End, 404-758-1731.