Lowell Perry - Government, Broadcast, and Business Career

Government, Broadcast, and Business Career

Perry received a law degree from Detroit College of Law in 1960. That same year, he became a law clerk to U.S. District Court Judge Frank A. Picard (the Michigan Wolverines' quarterback from 1909 to 1910). In 1961, he accepted a job with the Chevrolet Division of General Motors in the personnel department of the gear and axle division. In 1962, he left Chevrolet to prosecute unfair labor practice charges for the National Labor Relations Board, a position he held until 1963.

In 1963, Perry began a 17-year career with Chrysler. He started as a personnel specialist.

In April 1966, Perry was hired as a color analyst for CBS Television to broadcast Steelers games alongside Joe Tucker. He was the first African-American to broadcast an NFL game to a national audience.

After his stint as a television broadcaster, Perry returned to Chrysler where he became a personnel manager in 1970. In 1973, he was appointed the plant manager of Chrysler's Eldon Avenue Axle Plant in Detroit. He was the first African American to hold the plant manager position at a U.S. automobile company.

In 1975, Perry was appointed by President Gerald Ford to be commissioner of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. At the ceremony in which Perry was sworn in, President Ford spoke and made the following comments:

"He first came to my attention when I saw his prowess on the gridiron at the University of Michigan. He made it and I didn't. He was really good and played not only exceptionally well at Ann Arbor but very well for the Pittsburgh Steelers. I have known Lowell over a period of time since then. I have always looked at his career, both in Government and with private employment, as an example of what a person can do who has got ability and the desire and the dedication. I think it's, in this instance, Government's gain to have Lowell with us, and Lynn Townsend probably is losing one of his very finest young people in his Chrysler organization."

He served as EEOC commissioner until 1976. Perry resigned from the EEOC after one year and returned to Chrysler.

Perry returned to government service in 1990 as director of the Michigan Department of Labor, a position he held for six years. In March 1996, Governor John Engler appointed him as the director of the Office of Urban Programs, a position that he held until his retirement in April 1999.