LOWRY REFLECTS ON HIS COUNCIL LEGACY

Proud moments include fist-bumping Lama.

In January, for the first time in 24 years, Myron Lowery won’t be walking into his Memphis City Council office in City Hall, greeting people with “Life is good!”

Lowery, 68, the longest serving African-American in the council’s history, will retire from the council at the end of 2015.

His career spans seven elections — six times to the council and once to the Memphis Charter Commission. He was a prominent black journalist at WMC-TV, interim mayor for several months in 2009, and has served on numerous civic boards.

In his Harbor Town home on Mud Island recently, Lowery said he’s proud of his legacy, from growing up in the projects of Ohio to that time in 2009 when he fist-bumped the Dalai Lama and — in a play on words that echoed around the globe — cried out, “Hello, Dalai!”

Q: Tell me, are you worried fist bumping the Dalai Lama is going to be what you’re remembered for?

Lowery: What do you mean worried? No! That fist bump was seen by more than 20 million people internationally. And while some folks in Memphis disagreed with doing that, internationally, it was a hit, and I’m proud of that. Look here (points to a photo in his living room of him bumping fists with the Dalai Lama). That’s where I keep it.

I will probably be re-

membered for the fist bump, and it wasn’t the first time that he’d been fist bumped. And he was aware of it. Many people thought I did it without any preparation. I laid the groundwork for that. His people knew it, he knew it, and that’s why he smiled. What people don’t know was that I met him three times on his visit here, and when he left, he reached out of the limousine and gave me a fist bump.

Q: So, you’re the longest serving African-American council member. Do you see yourself as an agent of racial reconciliation in Memphis?

Lowery: Oh, I think I’ve always been that. Because of my background as a journalist at Channel 5, covering the news, I made a point to be fair and to look at both sides of an issue before I reported it. And I carried the same traits with me as a council member, giving weight to both sides of an issue before making a decision.

Q: Reflecting on a long history of civic service, in what ways have you left Memphis a better place than when you started?

Lowery: Many people have said I’m a good role model for what I’ve done in this community. So, I think that if someone is following my career, and looks at what I’ve done with organizations — Leadership Memphis, the Urban League, the Memphis Association of Black Journalists, working with United Way, working with Memphis in May — it’s public service. You give back to the community to help the community, to make it better.

I should be viewed as a good role model, as one who served the city as a councilman free of scandal — free of scandal in the way I’ve carried myself. And that’s what I want to be remembered for.

Q: What do you mean when you say you’ve been a good role model?

Lowery: By being one who listens, by being one who’s respectful of others. I think the mere fact that I was elected chairman five times — that means I was elected vice chairman five times too, you know — shows faith in my colleagues toward by judgment, and what I do and how I do it. The way I conduct a meeting is to be respectful of everyone. And the only time you hear me shout — which is rare — is when someone crosses the line.

Q: You touched on this already, but how has your career in journalism influenced your political career?

Lowery: It’s because I was a journalist, I ran for council. I covered the council; I didn’t like what I saw. I saw members of this council being unfair to the African-American community. I saw dollars not flowing to South Memphis like they should. And I said, I could do a better job. And that’s why I ran.

People have asked me before, “You’ve run six times, why do you run?” Because I trust me to do the right thing. I trust me.

Q: You obviously have a passion for civic service. Why?

Lowery: My greatgrandfather sort of instilled within me giving back. And I grew up in public housing in Columbus, Ohio. I grew up in Poindexter Village, which was one of the first public housing projects in the country. My mother was divorced. She raised four boys on welfare. She was a maid. And, um — I don’t get emotional (wipes away tears). This is stupid. I don’t get emotional. But we grew up very poor. My grandfather helped us out, and he instilled in us the responsibility to give back.

Q: Does that flow from a religious view?

Lowery: It comes from life. Because somebody helped me to get to Memphis to come to LeMoyneOwen College. Somebody helped me when I was broke and couldn’t pay my utility bills. And because people helped me, it’s my responsibility to help others, to pass it on. I don’t do it as a handout — I tell other people they have a responsibility to pay it forward.

Q: You’re famous in City Hall for saying “Life is good” when people ask you how you’re doing. Why is life good?

Lowery: Because everyone has challenges and problems in life. And I believe you have to have a positive outlook on life. And when you consider where you are today, compared to where some of your neighbors are and have been, you need to appreciate the fact that life is good. That’s all. And as long as you’re living, there’s hope. There’s hope to do better. There are challenges to overcome. If you’re unemployed, you need to keep looking. You need to get an education. You need to do something different tomorrow than you did yesterday. So life is good for everybody.

Because people helped me, it’s my responsibility to help others, to pass it on. I don’t do it as a handout — I tell other people they have a responsibility to pay it forward.