What a sharp-tongued Joe Lowery said over the weekend
Updated with new video at 2:55 p.m.: We told you last night about the radio ads put out by an anti-Amendment One group, declaring that Tuesday’s ballot issue on charter schools was an effort to recreate an educational system that separates black and white students.
Several of the 60-second spots featured the Rev. Joseph Lowery, the 91-year-old civil rights figure. “Don’t let them resegregate our schools,” Lowery says in the ads.
As it turns out, the sharp-tongued Lowery was already an Internet topic on Wednesday – but not for dipping into the charter school debate. Rather, it was for comments made over the weekend in Monroe County, as part of a Southern Christian Leadership Conference trek across the state to encourage support for President Barack Obama.
Former Atlanta mayor Andrew Young was there, too. But it was Lowery — the same fellow who gave the benediction at Obama’s 2009 inauguration — who raised eyebrows. Lowery says he’s being pilloried for a joke about white folk that he’s told hundreds of times from the stump — which the reporter apparently didn’t recognize for its humor.
Here’s the report from Diane Glidewell and the Monroe County Reporter, the local weekly:
Lowery said Obama lost Georgia by 200,000 votes in 2008 while 390,000 black folks in Georgia did not vote.
“I don’t know what kind of a n—– wouldn’t vote with a black man running,” said Lowery. “All that he did with the stimulus was genius. Nobody intelligent would risk this country with Romney.”
Lowery praised Obama’s commitment to the poor and said politicians should quit saying ‘middle class’ and go ahead and say ‘poor.’ Then he urged individuals to look at their own character and conduct.
“We’ve turned our backs on the faith,” said Lowery. “America is going to hell in a hand basket. We need to straighten up so God can use us.”
Lowery said that when he was a young militant, he used to say all white folks were going to hell. Then he mellowed and just said most of them were. Now, he said, he is back to where he was.
“I’m frightened by the level of hatred and bitterness coming out in this election,” said Lowery.
Forsyth Mayor John Howard, a member of St. James who opened Saturday’s program, said he was “pretty shocked” by Lowery’s comments. He said if a speaker had made the same comments about black people, he would have gotten up and left.
Immediately after their joint appearance in Forsyth, Ga., Lowery and Young headed over to Macon. Lowery didn’t say exactly the same thing, but poke through this video of the Macon event sent over by Maynard Eaton, national communications director for the SCLC.
The speech before the Georgia Association of Black Elected Officials, founded by state Rep. Tyrone Brooks, was recorded by videographer Clyde Bradley, and might leave you with a different impression. Lowery’s every bit as hard on black folk as he is white folk:
- By Jim Galloway, Political Insider
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96 comments Add your comment
GaBlue
November 1st, 2012
11:44 am
Please… Rev. Lowery is a little late! Mike Huckabee already explained that any of us voting for Democrats will “burn in Hell,” regardless of our Christian beliefs. Looks like that’s going to be a crowded place, huh?
What I want to know is, will Jimi be there, what time does the gig start, and can we smoke?
Mortimer Cuthbert
November 1st, 2012
11:47 am
Why do black folks get so worked up!? If their ancestors hadn’t made the sacrifice to get on a ship and be enslaved they wouldn’t even be here. They’d be living in huts with bones in their noses. Just sayin. Geez.
And another thing – When it comes to income inequality of course Whites are going have more money than any other demographic because White folks are the ones who started this dang country! Duh.
double
November 1st, 2012
11:49 am
@11:18
Voter
November 1st, 2012
11:50 am
@Double – Mr. Lowery
Candace
November 1st, 2012
11:51 am
Did you really entitle your headline “What did Joe Lowery say over the weekend?”?!?!? This living legend, famous Preacher, activist extraordinaire, and SCLC President Emeritus deserves a title, at the age of 91, in front of his name! In his own words, he’s “Marched too long! Prayed too hard! Wept too bitterly! Bled too profusely” not to get the respect that he deserves!
JPolk
November 1st, 2012
11:53 am
More Black Liberation Theology from their bigoted leadership.
Miss J
November 1st, 2012
11:57 am
@ Mortimer Cuthbert Wow your so Dumb you’re smart – do your history bro..
Where there White slaves in America? HELL Yeah…..
Those academics who insist that slavery is an exclusively Black racial condition forget or deliberately omit the fact that the word slave originally was a reference to Whites of East European origin – “Slavs.”
Miss J
November 1st, 2012
11:58 am
Where there white slaves in America…why hell yeah……
Why yes, there were. In fact, there were even black slave-holders. Down South, there’s a lot of poverty, and so, it came to pass that in order to survive and pay off debt, you become an indentured servant.
2DPointAtlanta
November 1st, 2012
11:58 am
This conference was held in Monroe County, GA?? How many of you have been there? I certainly have and just talked to some friends from there over the past few days. They said nothing at all about this conference and probably never knew it was there.
Bottom line is that black, white, yellow or brown: Everyone needs to wake up to the quality of education in our school system and decide whether it’s adequate or not. Move your children to where you believe they should be because making change in a stiff-necked school system is a waste of time.
I notice the recent pro-charter school commercial showing this young black girl talking about the advantages of voting “yes” for this amendment. Something didn’t settle right with me on it. Using one black student as a tool in effort to sway something like this tends to make me angrier. Give me 1000 extra true testimonials from other black kids and I’d reassess in a heart-beat.
Because the water looks muddy on this amendment (as it did on the previous amendent for the transportation tax), I’m voting “NO” and hope more of you do the same.
Jennifer
November 1st, 2012
11:59 am
“Sharp-tongued”? I’d call that bigoted crap. For Madge, I would agree up to the point where he says he thought that when he was more militant (in the 50’s/60’s), except he says he mellowed out and then returned to feeling that way. He can have whatever opinion he wants, this is America, but it’s my opinion that he’s an ass.
Miss J
November 1st, 2012
12:01 pm
Wow you started the country but you were also Slaves …..
We are all in this together but ….research before you BLOG….
Oh, back in the day only land owners had the right to vote (if you did not own land (did not matter if you were White) you did not vote PERIOD……Hmmmmmmmm maybe a class system……
LEARN YOUR HISTORY…….
Miss J
November 1st, 2012
12:08 pm
It is true about the Slavs. The Vikings used to make regular raids into various places and carry off the inhabitants for the slave market in Muslim countries. The Moors dealt in slave trading all the time from Spain.
curious
November 1st, 2012
12:10 pm
I would have voted yes on T-Splost except for the current government in our state house.
Same reason I’m voting NO on amendment 1.
Jon Lester
November 1st, 2012
12:16 pm
I don’t believe there’s a hell for anybody to go to, but I do think we should let the elderly Lowery say what he feels. And he’s right about voter turnout, regardless of demographic.
Fannin
November 1st, 2012
12:20 pm
The “Reverend” Lowery is a “civil rights leader” in the same parallel universe in which George Wallace and Lester Maddox were civil rights leaders. Lowery, Maddox and Wallace are cut from the same cloth and fighting for the rights of one race to the exclusion of others. I hope that in the future, Blacks will look back on Lowery with the same revulsion so many whites look back on the old southern segregationists and for the same reason. My daughter was teased for being “yellow” for the first time in her life after Lowery read his stupid little racist ditty at the last Inauguration. She came home and asked “why do they call Asian people yellow, my skin isn’t yellow?” Lowery grew up in a time surrounded by people who enabled his racism just as Maddox and Wallace were enabled by their White supporters. Let’s pray for a time when everyone does indeed get up and turn their backs on old fools like Lowery when they make these kinds of racist remarks.
resno2
November 1st, 2012
12:22 pm
James: why is Romney’s submitting his tax returns (outside of the scope of the law, or what any other presidential candidate has had to do) so important to you?
td
November 1st, 2012
12:24 pm
Miss J
November 1st, 2012
11:58 am
Where there white slaves in America…why hell yeah……
Why yes, there were. In fact, there were even black slave-holders. Down South, there’s a lot of poverty, and so, it came to pass that in order to survive and pay off debt, you become an indentured servant.
There are still black slave owners. Joesph Lowery, Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton and the other race pimps are paid by their masters the White elite progressives in this country to keep all other blacks on the progressive plantation of dependency on the government. The sad part is most African Americans do not even know it.
Ms. Butterworth
November 1st, 2012
12:24 pm
Black, white, yellow…it doesnt matter. Trash is trash. The reason blacks feel like they are being discriminated against is because over 75% of them act like they just came from prison (oh wait, they did) and dont care about laws, civility, respect, personal property of others, or themselves. They act like trash and need to be taken out to the dump. You get treated they way you treat others… and what a much better place this would be if ONLY the property owners could vote. If you dont have skin(no pun intended) in the game, you should not get to decide for those that do. AND, because all those big bad banks loaned most of the money for the “underpriveledged” to purchase a house, they could vote. IF we still had that law. But because those same underpriveledged couldnt handle the payments, they lost their house but still get to have as much say as those that make payments in a timely manner. HOW FAIR IS THAT?
resno2
November 1st, 2012
12:26 pm
Candace: ” he’s Marched too long! Prayed too hard! Wept too bitterly! Bled too profusely not to get the respect that he deserves!” With the hate filled speech that he spews, he is getting the respect that he deserves.
Weetamoe
November 1st, 2012
12:43 pm
Wouldn’t Lowery’s theological consignments to after-life destinations put Obama in Limbo? Personally, i think he won’t get past the Vestibule, where he can dash hither and yon shouting his slogans. But just sorting by color, Joe, Limbo it is.
Firetruck
November 1st, 2012
12:51 pm
Racist and a bigot would be a better way to describe this “Pastor”.
bucket
November 1st, 2012
1:09 pm
Defending bad behavior (or language) by pointing out other bad behavior is a tired form of debate in this country. Everyone should be rising up against this type of speech by Mr. Lowery, regardless of race or political persuasion.
Shamus O'Shea
November 1st, 2012
1:18 pm
Good interview Jeff Hullinger. Your doing a great job outside of sports. Keep up the good work.
luangtom
November 1st, 2012
1:23 pm
Rev. Lowery, Rev. Sharpton, Rev. Jackson…….and they say White people are racists?
old news
November 1st, 2012
1:57 pm
this is old news…he made the same comments at an Atlanta City Hall Meeting on August 20th: Video here, fast forward to about the 1hr mark.
http://citycouncil.atlantaga.gov/VIDEO.HTM
John
November 1st, 2012
3:07 pm
The vitriol directed toward BHO pales in comparison to what has been said about George W. Bush. Not even in the same league.
DAWG POUND
November 1st, 2012
3:17 pm
“I’m frightened by the level of hatred and bitterness coming out in this election,” said Lowery
Look in the mirror Mr Lowery. You must be scared as hell at the sight of yourself!
Lowery was always a bigoted racist! If there is a hell, Mr Lowery will be the Deacon greeting you at the door!
Steffie
November 1st, 2012
3:18 pm
Shameful. If he really feels that way about white Americans, then a true man of God would be working to reach out to his fellow man with the Gospel of Christ, but he doesn’t seem to be concerned about that…he seems to just be concerned with hating white folks. I mean, that’s what this is, hate. To blanket an entire group of people as hell bound based only on their race, without knowing anything of their personal relationship with God isn’t even Biblical. Shameful, shameful, shameful. I hope he doesn’t think more highly of himself than the worst of the KKK members because his heart and ignorance is no different.
If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for.
the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God.
whom he has not seen. 1 John 4:20.
Miss J
November 1st, 2012
3:56 pm
@ TD
Again please do your homework before spewing you lies. 75% of blacks have been in jail —PLEASE read below…..
In 2008 the breakdown for adults under correctional control was as follows: one out of 18 men, one in 89 women, one in 11 African-Americans (9.2 percent), one in 27 Latinos (3.7 percent), and one in 45 Caucasians (2.2 percent). Crime rates have declined by about 25 percent from 1988-2008.[15] 70% of prisoners in the United States are non-whites.[16] In recent decades the U.S. has experienced a surge in its prison population, quadrupling since 1980, partially as a result of mandatory sentencing that came about during the “war on drugs.” Violent crime and property crime have declined since the early 1990s.[17]
Guido
November 1st, 2012
6:26 pm
If you won’t vote for Obama, only because he is back, you are a racist.
If you will vote for Obama, because he is black, you are also a racist.
Hillary Lindh
November 1st, 2012
6:57 pm
This can be dissected, analyzed, debated but all it does is drive the wedge deeper in a Country divided. I think it’s sad for our children’s future because this is proof that nothing has changed. There is so much hate & finger pointing with both candidates & I have yet to hear what they are going to do to help my Country & now this – more hate – not a joke to me.
T Jordan
November 1st, 2012
7:48 pm
I am just amazed that a “man of God’ would not just vote, but also campaign for a President that believes and endorsed same sex marriage and partial birth abortion. Maybe Lowery doesn’t have a problem with a doctor sticking a pair of scissors in the skull of a kicking baby and sucking it’s brains out, but God does. So whether you are red or yellow, black or white, you are precious in his sight and I truly think if you condone this with your vote, YOU will have to answer to God. It is not about the color of the person you are voting for, it’s about what he believes in!!
jp
November 1st, 2012
8:21 pm
Look there is enough hate in this world, why add to it with comments like these. God created everyone equal that includes black, white, and my people the native americans. I am sick of hearing about racism and all that crap. The only way we as a country will get through this is together. So stop pointing fingers and work together. If anyone has grounds for complaining is my people who had their country taken from them. You don’t see us pissing and moaning about it. Wake up people we are all in this together.
George Crumbly
November 1st, 2012
9:30 pm
He’s about as much a reverend as al sharpton & jessie jackson. they are all pathetic.
Guido
November 1st, 2012
10:43 pm
Lowery endorses any position his donors and contributors ask him to; he’s an embarrassment to the civil rights movement and more of racist than anyone in the city. If you agree with his position, you’re a racist too.
Having said that, it’s unlikely that he even understands the debate or what’s being discussed.
B baker
November 1st, 2012
11:18 pm
This man (lowery) is a disgrace! He does nothing for equality I am sad for those who believe his words have merit. He should not have an audience …bigotry at its worst!
benita michelle wheeler
November 2nd, 2012
12:31 am
Joseph is always going to be anti PC which is why we still love him because he speaks his mind. You are not going change it. This is why he is part of history.
WhiteMan
November 2nd, 2012
4:53 am
All blacks are going to hell. Still a joke? What a bigiot and racist! Poor reporting by the AJC.
Edmund Ruffin
November 2nd, 2012
7:17 am
Nothing new here, Lowery has been a racist for a long time.
Seriously though...
November 2nd, 2012
8:16 am
So he is now calling his racist (and incendiary) remarks a joke? Because he is considered an “icon” by some will he get a pass? This was no joke, he meant what he said just like the race tinged remarks he made at the inauguration. It seems to me that there is a faction in the black community whose agenda is to keep the racism going in order to enrich themselves.
AJC Admin
November 2nd, 2012
8:22 am
We at the AJC would like to applogise for the joke of a career that Jim Galloway has had. His one sided biased reporting has been unhelpful to Atlanta and most importantly our faithful readers. Thank you.
MSG Top
November 2nd, 2012
8:23 am
An old racist dying words.
honested
November 2nd, 2012
8:37 am
However you take Revernd Lowery’s comments, the message is clear…..
Vote properly, Obama 2012!!
Turn GA Purple (especially the voter suppression wing of ALEC!)
Ms.Smeneza
November 2nd, 2012
9:56 am
I’m sadden by this old civil rights leader for bringing hate to our race. We are all equal in Gods eyes and that is no joke. What a sad old man filled with hate. And if he wants to know, I’m the type voting for Romney!
Mike
November 2nd, 2012
10:31 am
If Billy Graham had said “all blacks are going to hell” Joe Lowery and the ALCU would be jumping up and down, talk about racism!
Ashley
November 2nd, 2012
12:56 pm
Wow most of you know how to copy and paste facts! How about real feelings!