Stars in Singing Tribute on Lowery's 88th Birthday

ATLANTA (AP) -- The Rev. Joseph Lowery has celebrated his 88th birthday with a little help from his friends, including soul legend Aretha Franklin and actor Samuel L. Jackson.

Lowery, who worked alongside the late Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. in the civil rights movement, received the star-studded tribute Sunday night at Morehouse College in Atlanta.

Franklin performed gospel songs with the Morehouse and Spelman college glee clubs, turning the evening into a revival-like atmosphere. In addition to "Amazing Grace" and "Mary, Don't You Weep" Franklin also sang "Respect."

Other celebrities in attendance for the birthday of the man considered the "dean of the civil rights movement" were Alfre Woodard, Keith David, Charles S. Dutton and Nicole Ari Parker.

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)