"Well, I am the oldest rat in the
Lowry's stories always come with a
point, and the past is prelude to an idea.
At 92, he still has the passion for a good
cause, and he is always willing to speak
his mind.
"I have a vision I want to share,"
Lowry said during a recent phone call.
The vision was revealed during a visit
last summer to his Pembroke residence:
"I want President Obama to come to
Pembroke ... it can be done."
Before considering the probabilities
of a presidential visit, let's take a look
at a remarkable life and a remarkable
spirit. After more than 50 years of
disappointment over the most important
issue full federal recognition of the
Lumbee Tribe Lowry remains steadfastly
optimistic.
He believes his people will get the
respect they deserve in his lifetime!
Lowry's other lifelong causes are
education and his university.
A career educator, Lowry is the former
director of the university's Office of
Admissions. Five generations of Lowrys are
university graduates and have served the
university in many roles.
The family's history runs deep with the
university and the community.
· His uncle, D.F. Lowry, was the normal
school's first graduate in 1905.
· Lumbee hero Henry Berry Lowrie was
D.F. Lowry's uncle.
· Half-brother, Zeb Lowry, a 1925
· Rev. Welton Lowry, whose family
occupies, was a first cousin.
Lowry firmly believes that education
makes life better for everyone. Federal
recognition is the missing link in the
land of the Lumbee. Lowry believes it
would improve the health of his people
and complete the three pillars of social
wellbeing - health, education and welfare.
"I want to live long enough to see
recognition," he insists. With recognition
efforts floundering both at home and in
Congress, he continues to keep faith. First,
he needs to convince university officials
to listen to his plan. He would bring
President Barack Obama to Pembroke to
give the commencement address in 2012.
Lowry believes that with the president's
help, recognition is possible. Obama's
unique personal history and the history of
the Lumbee are a perfect match, he said.
Lowry has done a lot of things during
his long life, and bringing a president to
Pembroke would be a first, but not his
only "first." For instance, he was told he
was a member of at least three tribes. He
started life as a Croatan and later became
a Cherokee, although he is happiest as a
Lumbee.
"I finished high school in 1938 as a
Cherokee," Lowry said. "When I went
to Lumberton to take the school bus
driver's test, I had to ask them how to spell
Cherokee."
Lowry has a dry sense of humor, and
many of his stories end with a humorous
or ironic twist. He has a serious side too,
like the story he tells of his enrollment
in Pembroke State College for Indians in
1940.
"Tuition cost $7 dollars a quarter,
and $9 if you wanted high school
certification," he said. "I wanted to be an
uppity-up, so I needed $9. On the day I
enrolled, Daddy (Abner Lowry) told me to
wait out front of Old Main next to the east
column."
"He came back with a $10 bill," Lowry
said. "I'll never know where he went
to get that money. Daddy believed in
education."
Lowry's undergraduate education was
interrupted several times, first by lack of
funds and later by the draft board, which
sent him on a tour of North Africa and
Europe during World War II. For a young
man who had not traveled far, the war
brought many "firsts" to him.
"I was 22 years old and had never been
to the beach," he said. "When we got on
the boat that was the first time I'd seen the
ocean."
The Army was a melting pot, he said.
"The boys were from all over America. It
was a segregated Army," he continued. "I
was in an all-white unit. Nobody asked.
Because of my nose, they thought I was
Jewish, until I spoke."
It was one of many firsts in Lowry's life.
He laughs when he says, "I was the first
to integrate that institution." It would not
be the last time he said that during the
conversation.
The G.I. Bill made college more
affordable for Lowry and an entire
generation. Like many who went to war,
he married his sweetheart before shipping
out. Roberta Hammonds was in college
when they were married, and she would
be among the first to graduate with a four-
year degree from Pembroke State College
for Indians.
When Lowry mentions the college's
name, another thought emerges. "For
Indians? What's in a name?" In 1949, the
board of trustees dropped "for Indians"
from the name.
After the war and completion of
work on his undergraduate degree in
1948, Lowry embarked on a long career
in public education. His first job was
teaching high school at Fairgrove School,
where he met Herbert Oxendine, also a
new teacher.
"He said, he couldn't put up with these
`wild children,'" Lowry said. "He was
going to graduate school. He and Adolph
Dial went to up to Boston (University)."
director of
admissions
- 1968