After a Successful Launch Lowery Boulevard Clean-Up Project Continues Through Holidays
“Starting on November 15th, America Recycles Day, volunteers will canvass homes and businesses on Lowery Boulevard and continue through Christmas,” said Butler. “The holiday season is a perfect time to offer environmental and recycling education. It is also important for us to provide energy-saving light bulbs and information to the people who need it most before the coldest months.”
“Our goal is to spread the word about the environmental and economic benefits of recycling in our community,” said Stephenie Lemon, development director, Scrappy Green Recycles, a CGH partner. “We are focused on the three R’s – Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle.”
The CLEAN, GREEN & HONOR PROJECT is an innovative initiative striving to clean Lowery Boulevard block-by-block over the next few years. The clean-up will address crime, code violations, and other issues that detract from the safety and beauty of the corridor and tear at the fabric of the community. The Peoples’ Agenda selected Lowery’s birthday to launch the program hoping to send a message to residents that it’s time to reclaim honor in the place they call home.
Butler adds, “Dr. Lowery was so proud when a street was named in his honor, but often talks about the need to revive the neighborhood. He has done so much for people nationally and internationally, the least we can do is clean up the street named in his honor.”
Lowery, accompanied by his wife, Evelyn Gibson Lowery and other family members, was given a mini-tour of the street named in his name where he was greeted by crowds assembled on corners where Lowery Boulevard intersects with streets named in honor of other notable leaders in the civil rights movement.
“It’s an honor to intersect with Martin King, Ralph Abernathy, Donald Hollowell, and Joe Boone. The young people need to read about their contributions to the civil rights movement and perhaps they will become bothered to see trash on the corner of King and Lowery Blvd.”
The former advisor to Martin Luther King, Jr. continued, “It’s not a black issue, it’s not a white issue, it’s a green issue. If we take pride in our own communities others will follow suit and respect our neighborhoods. A clean neighborhood helps to restore honor in our communities.”
For the birthday launch Clean Green Teams were dispatched to clear overgrown brush, remove trash and trim hedges in the neighborhood along Lowery Blvd. There were several birthday activities taking place at Lindsay Street Baptist Church including: a Green Market Fair with several green vendors, eco-friendly face painting for children, light bulb swap for energy efficient bulbs, farmer’s market, performances by green recording artists, and a several young volunteers from the Booster Club of Champion Middle School and The Hank Stewart Foundation.
The celebration was supported by Georgia Power, The Atlanta Community Tool Bank, students from the Atlanta University Center, and the City of Atlanta. The Atlanta Fire Department was on hand installing smoke alarms in residents’ homes, code enforcement inspected abandoned homes, and representatives from green organizations went door-to-door talking with local residents about sustainable living.
CGH partners include Pointer, Corbett & Weekes, West Atlanta Watershed Alliance, Green Opportunities for Urban Neighborhoods, and BIO FUELS Racing Alliance, among others.
Convened by Dr. Joseph E. Lowery, the Peoples’ Agenda is a justice advocacy organization committed to improving the quality of governance in Georgia. In addition to a primary concentration on voting empowerment, the Coalition for the Peoples’ Agenda maintains active committees on education, criminal justice and environmental justice. For more information call (404) 653-1199.