Rev. Joseph E. Lowery, a longtime civil rights leader and aide to Martin Luther King Jr., reportedly passed away on Friday (March 27). He was 98.

A family statement said Lowery died in his Atlanta home from natural causes unrelated to the coronavirus pandemic.

A charismatic preacher, Lowery helped MLK establish the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and was a leading in fighting against racial discrimination. He led the SCLC for two decades, restoring the organization’s financial stability and pressuring businesses not to trade with South Africa – who at the time was under apartheid.

In his later years, Lowery was an early and staunch supporter of Barack Obama’s 2008 and 2012 bids for the presidency. He led an emotional victory celebration for then-President-elect Obama in Atlanta, exclaiming, “America tonight is in the process of being born again.”

Lowery also gave the benediction at Barack Obama’s inauguration in 2009. “We thank you for the empowering of thy servant, our 44th president, to inspire our nation to believe that, yes, we can work together to achieve a more perfect union,” he said.

That same year Obama awarded Lowery the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor.

Dr. King’s daughter, Bernice King, reacted to Lowery’s passing on Twitter, labeling him “Uncle Joe.”

“I’ll miss you, Uncle Joe. You finally made it up to see Aunt Evelyn again,” she tweeted Friday night.

Lowery’s wife, Evelyn Gibson Lowery, worked alongside her husband of nearly 70 years, serving as the head of SCLC/WOMEN before passing away in 2013.

Joseph Lowery is survived by his three daughters, Yvonne Kennedy, Karen Lowery, and Cheryl Lowery-Osborne.