A chance connection

Chance brings people together and forms human connections, but only if one is willing to open the door to them. Dan Lourie, a Bozeman resident and activist for human rights has formed significant human connections in his life, including ones with Martin Luther King Jr., Harry Belafonte, Aretha Franklin and, thanks to a surprising coincidence, myself. 

Born in Antwerp, Belgium, Lourie and his family fled Nazi bombers when he was just 3 years old. They moved to the Bronx where Lourie grew up playing varsity baseball at Bronx High School and moved on to play football at Trinity College. Following college, Lourie joined the Army. He also became a leader for peace and human rights issues. Lourie has spent his life fighting for what he believes and has formed many connections with noteworthy individuals along the way. 

Lourie once spent a day with King talking about racial rights issues. “You have to remember that what you and I, and so millions of people remember about him, came later,” Lourie said, describing King. Their encounter was just two years before King’s assassination. Lourie closely followed the works of King and has continued preaching his work.

During his time with King, Lourie also had the opportunity to meet Aretha Franklin, who is referred to as the “Queen of Soul,” and Harry Belafonte, a singer, songwriter, activist and actor. Lourie and King were stink bombed together listening to their music at an event. 

Following his infamous encounter with King, Lourie befriended a man named Mickey Leland. Lourie and Leland became the best of friends and spent three years advocating for Black voting rights. Prior to the 1965 Voting Rights Act, many states used literacy tests and other methods of excluding African Americans from voting. “It was just amazing, the votes were something like 93%,” Lourie said, regarding the Black community voting population. Leland moved on to become a chair member of the Congressional Black Caucus. “During that time, I also began at an all black university studying law,” Lourie explained. 

Lourie said he dedicated his life to a cause he hadn’t experienced firsthand because of inspiration from his father. His father was ripped from his roots in Belgium, along with his family and many other Jewish residents. At the time, the Jewish community was the most blatantly targeted ethnic group in Europe. Moving into the U.S., Lourie’s father brought such hardships with him and focused his activism on another marginalized group experiencing many similarities. 

As Dan was telling me the stories of his life, I began to think of how things are now. It seems as though he is leading a fight that has looped back to the present day. Lourie grew up in a segregated nation, but that didn’t change his appreciation for all people, regardless of what they looked like. He saw the line of segregation through his own eyes and has been persevering to see the line vanish. Lourie has contributed greatly to the cause throughout his life, choosing to connect with and educate those around him.

When he reached the U.S., his father was brought to work in the Pentagon. “Someone found out that he spoke 13 languages, so he spent the rest of the war in the Pentagon,” Lourie explained. While living in Washington D.C. as a young teenager, he spent his days visiting the Lincoln Memorial and loved it.

Lourie moved to Bozeman about 12 years ago from Maine. He has organized and spoken at numerous Democratic rallies in Bozeman over the last several years to bring awareness to human rights issues.

Lourie leads by strong example and has impacted every life he has encountered, including my own. About a year ago, I was recovering from a serious injury. I decided to try physical therapy at the Bozeman swimming pool, which happened to be during the senior hour swim. I absolutely dreaded the idea of swimming in a cold, indoor pool in the middle of February, frustrated and lonely. It took copious amounts of motivation for me to just get in the car to drive there — until I met Dan. He befriended me the first time we swam together. We bonded over our love for gardening and all else. After meeting Dan, I actually looked forward to the pool, so I could fill my time aqua-jogging alongside my new friend.

At the time, my only knowledge of Dan was of his beautiful garden in Maine, (of which he brought pictures to show me), and that he had moved to Bozeman with his wife to be closer to their daughter. I had been kicking myself for a year for not staying in touch with Dan. I had no idea the impact he had on others’ lives until a week ago, when by chance, I was randomly assigned this article. Dan had walked back in my life, and I truly could not be more grateful for it. I’ve always had a firm belief that every injury or low point in life has a silver lining. For the longest time, I wracked my brain for what could possibly be the silver lining for this atrocious injury I endured last year, and now I have it.