Lowery timeline

In 1985, Evelyn Lowery said, “I wouldn’t give anything for the experiences I’ve had.” Here are some of the highlights:

1947 — She meets the Rev. Joseph E. Lowery. They marry April 5, 1948.

1953-62 — The Lowerys live in Mobile, Ala. Joseph Lowery, a Methodist minister, travels throughout the state, and he works with the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.

1962-64 — The family lives in Nashville, Tenn., where they help integrate restaurants.

1964-68 — The Lowerys live in Birmingham, Ala.

1968 — The family moves to Atlanta.

Aug. 18, 1977 — Joseph Lowery becomes president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.

September 1979 — The Lowerys meet in Lebanon with Yasser Arafat, leader of the Palestinian Liberation Organization.

Oct. 18, 1979 — Evelyn Lowery founds the Southern Christian Leadership Conference/WOMEN (Women’s Organizational Movement for Equality Now).

February 1982 — The Lowerys march with the SCLC from Pickens County, Ala., to Montgomery, supporting the extension of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and protesting prison sentences given to two elderly Pickens County women for voting fraud. A similar march follows in April from Tuskegee, Ala., to Washington, D.C.

August 1983 — The Lowerys join a march on Washington commemorating the 20th anniversary of King’s 1963 civil rights rally at the Lincoln Memorial.

December 1983 — The Lowerys lead an 11-person fact-finding tour of Nicaragua, where they meet with Sandinista leader Daniel Ortega.

Dec. 11, 1984 — Evelyn Lowery, women’s rights activist Judy Goldsmith and U.S. Rep. Louis Stokes are arrested outside the South African Embassy in Washington for protesting against apartheid.

March 1985 — The SCLC re-creates the 1965 Selma-to-Montgomery voting rights march.

1988 — Evelyn Lowery establishes a training center for GED classes and computer training.

1995 — Evelyn Lowery creates a mentoring program for young women.

2004 — Evelyn Lowery is inducted into the International Civil Rights Walk of Fame at the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Site.