Civil Rights Preacher Lowery Released from Hospital
The Rev. Joseph Lowery was hospitalized Sunday after preaching for about 40 minutes at the 123rd anniversary service of Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta.
"He was shaking hands and he just became a little weak and lost his balance," Ebenezer's senior pastor, the Rev. Raphael G. Warnock, told The Associated Press after he accompanied Lowery to the hospital.
"I think he just overdid it," Warnock added.
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After Lowery was released from the hospital the next day, he similarly told the press that he "just got overheated."
"The doctor did tell me to slow down, though," the civil rights icon stated. "I'm going to slow down, but it's hard."
Though Lowery is officially retired from preaching, the United Methodist minister is still a sought after speaker and earlier this year gave the benediction at the inauguration of President Obama.
In his younger days, Lowery helped lead the Montgomery bus boycott, headed the Alabama Civic Affairs Association, led the Selma to Montgomery march in 1965, and co-founded groups including the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and the Black Leadership Forum.
At the age of 88, Lowery still remains active in the civil rights movement and advocates for racial justice, human rights, and world peace.
When Ebony Magazine named him one of the nation's 15 greatest black preachers, they described him as "the consummate voice of biblical social relevancy, a focused prophetic voice, speaking truth to power."
