Myron Lowery

Lowery was born in Columbus, Ohio on December 26, 1946.^[1] At different times, Lowery served as a board member of the Tennessee Municipal League, Tennessee Quality, Goals for Memphis, Leadership Memphis, Goodwill Boys Club, The Memphis Zoo, the Headstart Policy Council, and the Board of Trustees of LeMoyne-Owen College.

On the national front, Lowery was a member of the Board of Directors for National League of Cities. He served as Vice-President of the National Association of Black Journalists and as Secretary, Treasurer, Vice-Chairman and Chairman of the Democratic Municipal Officials. In 1996, he was a speaker at the Democratic National Convention. Lowery served as a member of the Democratic National Committee and was a member of the National Black Caucus of Local Elected Officials. He was also a past treasurer of the United Negro College Fund's National Alumni Council.

Lowery held a Bachelor of Science in Sociology from LeMoyne-Owen College, a Master of Science in Education from New York University and a Master of Science in Urban Education from the University of Tennessee. He also held an honorary degree from Southeastern College of Technology.

In September 2009, Lowery greeted visiting Tibetan Buddhist leader, the Dalai Lama, with a fist bump, which garnered brief national news coverage. Lowery reportedly pre-arranged the greeting with the leader's handlers.

In July 2015, Lowery moved to unearth the remains of Civil War general and Ku Klux Klan's first Grand Wizard Nathan Bedford Forest and his wife and have his memorial removed because: "It is no longer politically correct to glorify someone who was a slave trader, someone who was a racist, on public property."

Lowery died at the age of 78 on September 27, 2025.^[2][3]

• Fox News Councilmember takes first step to remove Nathan Bedford Forrest statue from a city park
• Zack McMillin, Myron Lowery takes long path to top job; Council leader to serve as mayor until election, Memphis Commercial Appeal, June 26, 2009
• Myron Lowery files petition to run for Memphis mayor, Memphis Commercial Appeal, August 26, 2009
• Council Super District 8
• Associated Press, Dalai Lama comes to Memphis, gets fist bump, joke^{[permanent dead link]}, September 23, 2009; retrieved from WISH-TV website on October 27, 2009