Phoenix Woman has a great recommended diary on Rev. Joseph Lowery, his bio, and his role in the inaugural ceremonies. In seeing that diary, I wanted to share a story I heard just a few months ago about the first meeting between Barack Obama and Rev. Joseph Lowery.
I was at a local volunteers meeting, and we had several of our local pols come and speak to us. One of them was a local County Councilman, and he shared a story about a fundraiser event he attended for Obama back in 2007. Now, the Councilman got a free invite to the event, but he had already pretty much committed to Hillary Clinton for the primary. Regardless, he decided to go to the event see what all the fuss about this Obama fellow was about.
What he saw changed his endorsement.
Rev. Joseph Lowery was at the event, sitting quietly against the wall in the room where the event was being held in Washington. Lowery and Obama had never met before. When Obama heard Lowery was at the event, he walked over to him to introduce himself. What followed, according to the Councilman, left the room in some disbelief.
Obama got on one knee, and took Rev. Lowery's hand. Obama said, "Rev. Lowery, I want to thank you for all you have done for equal rights. Thank you and the millions of others who struggled throughout the civil rights movement for those of us who came after you. Without you, I would never have been a Senator, nor been able to run for President."
Like I say, it pretty much left everybody stunned. Obama didn't have to do that, of course, as a US Senator and Presidential candidate. But it left the Councilman and everyone else in the room with the sense of the geunineness of who Obama is.
Now, I'm disappointed too that Rick Warren is coming to the inaugural. But I'm thrilled the Rev. Lowery is too. And with this backstory of how Obama and Lowery met, it makes it all the better.
Just thought I'd share that with y'all.