Lowery celebrates a star-studded 88th birthday

By Ernie Suggs

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Before a hushed crowd, Tony-award winning choreographer Savion Glover tapped in the darkness. As the curtain rose, the dancer’s musical accompaniment began playing John Coltrane’s, “Giant Steps.”

A perfect tribute to the man of the hour, the Rev. Joseph E. Lowery.

If Lowery every doubted that he had a ton of friends, he can put that notion to rest. Hundreds of people, black, white, old and young, gathered Sunday evening at Morehouse College for an all-star birthday tribute to the man widely known as the "Dean of the Civil Rights Movement."

In helping him to celebrate his 88^th birthday, actress Nicole Ari Parker said Lowery was comfortable among, “street sweepers and kings.”

“He was a man of God and a man of the people,” Parker said.

The theatrical tribute to Lowery, “A Mile in His Shoes,” could have been a simple celebration, with speeches and songs. But Kenneth Green, the producer and director of the program, created a masterpiece that showcased narrative, music and visual artistry to capture Lowery’s 88 years.

The production, broken down into different chapters, also included video tributes and retrospectives of Lowery’s life and a stunning living eight-foot recreation of Augusta Savage’s sculpture, “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” also known as “The Harp.”

Samuel L. Jackson, Alfre Woodard, Keith David, Charles S. Dutton, Boris Kodjoe, Steve Harris, Mykelti Williamson, Victoria Rowell and Cassi Davis were among the celebrities on hand to salute him.

No street sweepers, but a MARTA conductor, who lauded Lowery for being the first black chairman of the transportation organization’s board.

There were no kings, but a Queen, Aretha Franklin.

“I hope you don’t mind, but we gonna have a little church for a few moments,” said Aretha Franklin, before launching into her official seven-song set.

Franklin, a long-time friend of the Lowery’s, performed a section of the tribute called, “Sister’s Lament,” which took up all of the second half of the show. She sang with the Spelman and Morehouse college glee clubs.

Although she is known as the Queen of Soul, Franklin turned the birthday celebration into a gospel revival, singing songs from her classic gospel album, “Amazing Grace,” including “Precious Memories,” with Bishop Paul Morton, “Mary, Don’t You Weep,” and “Old Landmark.”

But to say that the stars stole the whole show would be a mistake.

The emotional center of the first half of the show was the Jasmine Guy-directed “Trilogy,” which starred Hassan El-Amin as Lowery and Nevaina Rhodes as his wife, Evelyn.

“The Trilogy,” focused on three key events in Lowery’s life: The Sullivan vs. New York Times Supreme Court Case; the near shooting of Evelyn Lowery at a march; and Lowery’s 1965 confrontation with Alabama Gov. George Wallace after the Selma to Montgomery march.

The skits were performed mostly by Morehouse, Spelman and Clark Atlanta University students, who performed a stirring rendition of the civil rights standard, “Ain’t Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me Around.”

“We’ve come a long way, but it ain’t over,” Lowery said, at the show’s closing. “As we are here tonight, we are witnesses to an assault on our president.”

Lowery, who campaigned for President Barack Obama, delivered the new president’s benediction at the January Inauguration. This summer, Lowery received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from Obama, the country’s highest civic honor.

“Our president is a symbol of the world,” Lowery said. “Of the new hope.”

At the end of the program, Lowery and his wife joined the cast on stage for birthday cake and final a final thank you. Lowery, joked with Samuel L. Jackson, handed out flowers and even danced.

But before he would leave the stage, he had two more requests for Franklin. He asked her to sing, “Respect,” and “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman.

The queen bowed to the dean and accompanied by the audience, sang.