Ralph Abernathy
Ralph Abernathy | |
---|---|
2nd President of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference | |
In office 1968–1977 | |
Preceded by | Martin Luther King Jr. |
Succeeded by | Joseph Lowery |
Personal details | |
Born | David Abernathy March 11, 1926 Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. |
Political party | Democratic |
Spouse | Juanita Jones Abernathy |
Children | 5, including Ralph III and Donzaleigh |
Occupation | Clergyman, activist |
Known for |
|
Military service | |
Branch/service | United States Army |
Rank | Platoon sergeant |
Battles/wars | World War II |
Ralph David Abernathy Sr. (March 11, 1926 – April 17, 1990) was an American civil rights activist and Baptist minister. He was ordained in the Baptist tradition in 1948. As a leader of the
In 1971, Abernathy addressed the United Nations speaking about world peace. He also assisted in brokering a deal between the
In 1989, Abernathy wrote And the Walls Came Tumbling Down, a controversial autobiography about his and King's involvement in the civil rights movement. Abernathy eventually became less active in politics and returned to his work as a minister. He died of heart disease on April 17, 1990. His tombstone is engraved with the words "I tried".[2]
Early life, family, and education
Abernathy, 10th of William L. and Louivery Valentine Abernathy (née Bell)'s 12 children,[3] was born on March 11, 1926, on their family 500-acre (200 ha) farm in Linden, Alabama.[4][5][6][7] Abernathy's father was the first African-American to vote in Marengo County, Alabama, and the first to serve on a grand jury there.[8] Abernathy attended Linden Academy (a Baptist school founded by the First Mt. Pleasant District Association). At Linden Academy, Abernathy led his first demonstrations to improve the livelihoods of his fellow students.[8]
During World War II, he enlisted in the
He began his professional career in 1951, when he was appointed as the dean of men at Alabama State University.[12] Later in the same year, he became the senior pastor of the First Baptist Church, the largest black church in Montgomery; he held the position for ten years.[6][12][13]
He married Juanita Odessa Jones of Uniontown, Alabama, on August 31, 1952.[14][15] Together they had five children: Ralph David Abernathy Jr., Juandalynn Ralpheda, Donzaleigh Avis, Ralph David Abernathy III, and Kwame Luthuli Abernathy.[15][16] Their first child, Ralph Abernathy Jr., died suddenly on August 18, 1953, less than 2 days after his birth on August 16, while their other children lived on to adulthood.[16] His grandson, Micah Abernathy, is currently an American football player for the Atlanta Falcons.[17]
In 1954, Abernathy met Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., who – at the time – was just becoming a pastor himself at a nearby church.[14] Abernathy mentored King and the two men eventually became close friends.[14]
Civil rights activism
Montgomery bus boycott
External videos | |
---|---|
“Interview with Reverend Ralph Abernathy” from Eyes on the Prize conducted in 1985 discusses his involvement in helping to organize the Montgomery Bus Boycott. |
After the arrest of
After the boycotts, Abernathy's home and church were bombed. His family were barely able to escape their home, but they were unharmed. Abernathy's church, Mt. Olive Church, Bell Street Church, and the home of Robert Graetz were also bombed on that evening, while King, Abernathy, and 58 other black leaders from the south were meeting at the Southern Negro Leaders Conference on Transportation and Nonviolent Integration, in Atlanta.[24][25][26][6]
Southern Christian Leadership Conference and support of Freedom Riders
On January 11, 1957, after a two-day long meeting, the Southern Leaders Conference on Transportation and Non-violent Integration was founded.[27] On February 14, 1957, the conference convened again in New Orleans. During that meeting, they changed the group's name to the Southern Leadership Conference and appointed the following executive board: King, president; Charles Kenzie Steele, vice president; Abernathy, financial secretary-treasurer; T. J. Jemison, secretary; I. M. Augustine, general counsel.[28][29] On August 8, 1957, the Southern Leadership Conference held its first convention, in Montgomery.[30] They changed the conference's name a final time to the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, and decided to start voter registration drives for black people across the south.[30][31]
On May 20, 1961, the
The King/Abernathy partnership spearheaded successful nonviolent movements in Montgomery; Albany, Georgia; Birmingham, Mississippi, Washington D.C., Selma, Alabama; St. Augustine, Florida; Chicago, and Memphis. King and Abernathy journeyed together, often sharing the same hotel rooms, and leisure times with their wives, children, family, and friends. And they were both jailed 17 times together, for their involvement in the movement.[25]
During Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassination
On April 3, 1968, at the Mason Temple, Abernathy introduced King before he made his last public address; King said at the beginning of his now famous "I've Been to the Mountaintop" speech:
As I listened to Ralph Abernathy and his eloquent and generous introduction and then thought about myself, I wondered who he was talking about. It's always good to have your closest friend and associate to say something good about you, and Ralph Abernathy is the best friend that I have in the world.[39]
The following day, April 4, 1968, Abernathy was with King in the room (Room 306) they shared at the
Leadership of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference
Until King's assassination, Abernathy had served as Southern Christian Leadership Conference's first Financial Secretary/Treasurer and Vice President At-Large.[45] After King's death, Abernathy assumed the presidency of the SCLC.[6][25] One of his first roles was to take up the role of leading a march to support striking sanitation workers in Memphis which King and Abernathy had planned to attend before King's assassination.[46] In May 1968, Abernathy led the Poor People's Campaign in Washington, D.C.[47]
Protest at NASA
On the eve of the launch of Apollo 11, on July 15, 1969, Abernathy arrived at Cape Kennedy with several hundred members of the poor people campaign to protest against the spending by government on space exploration, while many Americans remained poor.[48] He was met by Thomas O. Paine, the administrator of NASA, whom he told that in the face of such suffering, space flight represented an inhuman priority and funds should be spent instead to "feed the hungry, clothe the naked, tend the sick, and house the homeless".[49] Paine told Abernathy that the advances in space exploration were "child's play" compared to the "tremendously difficult human problems" of society Abernathy was discussing.[49] Despite protesting against the launch, Abernathy acknowledged that he was "profoundly moved by the nation's achievements in space and the heroism of the three men embarking for the moon", but added that "What we can do for space and exploration we demand that we do for starving people."[50] Later in 1969 Abernathy also took part in a labor struggle in Charleston, South Carolina, on behalf of the hospital workers of the local union 1199B, which led to a living wage increase and improved working conditions for thousands of hospital workers.[51]
Wounded Knee
In 1973, Abernathy helped negotiate a peace settlement at the
Abernathy remained president of the SCLC for nine years following King's death in 1968.[6] After King's death the organization lost the popularity it had under his leadership.[55] By the time Abernathy left the organization the SCLC had become indebted, and critics stated that it wasn't as imaginative as the SCLC led by Dr. King.[56] In 1977 Abernathy resigned from his leadership role at the SCLC, and was bestowed the title president emeritus.[6]
Political career and later activism
Abernathy addressed the
In 1979, Abernathy endorsed Senator
In 1982, Abernathy testified—along with his executive associate, James Peterson of Berkeley, California—before the Congressional Hearings calling for the Extension of the Voting Rights Act.[63]
External videos | |
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Booknotes interview with Abernathy on And the Walls Came Tumbling Down, October 29, 1989, C-SPAN |
Documents declassified in 2017 show that Abernathy was on the National Security Agency watchlist because of FBI leadership's hatred of the civil rights movement.[64]
And the Walls Came Tumbling Down
In late 1989, HarperCollins published Abernathy's autobiography, And the Walls Came Tumbling Down.[6] It was his final published accounting of his close partnership with King and their work in the civil rights movement.[65] In it he revealed King's marital infidelity, stating that King had sexual relations with two women on the night of April 3, 1968 (after his "I've Been to the Mountaintop" speech earlier that day).[65] The book's revelations became the source of much controversy, as did Abernathy.[65][2] Jesse Jackson and other civil rights activists made a statement in October 1989—after the book's release—that the book was "slander" and that "brain surgery" must have altered Abernathy's perception.[65][2]
Unification Church
In the 1980s, the
Death
Abernathy died at
Barbara and I join with all Americans to mourn the passing of the Rev. Ralph Abernathy, a great leader in the struggle for civil rights for all Americans and a tireless campaigner for justice.[25]
He is entombed in the Chapel Mausoleum of Lincoln Cemetery in Atlanta.[70] At Abernathy's behest, his tomb has the simple inscription: "I TRIED."[2]
Tributes and portrayals
During his lifetime Abernathy was honored with more than 300 awards and citations, including five honorary doctoral degrees.[71][72][self-published source] He received a Doctor of Divinity from Morehouse College, a Doctor of Divinity from Kalamazoo College in Michigan, a Doctor of Laws from Allen University of South Carolina, a Doctor of Laws from Long Island University in New York, and a Doctor of Laws from Alabama State University.[72][self-published source]
- Ralph D. Abernathy Hall at Alabama State Hall is dedicated to him, with a bust of his head in the foyer area.[73]
- Interstate 20 Ralph David Abernathy Freeway,[74] Abernathy Road,[75] and Ralph David Abernathy Boulevard of Atlanta were named in his honor.[76]
Abernathy was portrayed by Ernie Lee Banks in the 1978 miniseries King.[77] He was also portrayed by Terrence Howard in the 2001 HBO film Boycott, Colman Domingo in the 2014 film Selma,[78] and Dohn Norwood in the 2016 film All the Way.[79]
Works
- Abernathy, Ralph; And the Walls Came Tumbling Down (1989), ISBN 9781569762790
- Abernathy, Ralph; The Natural History of A Social Movement: The Montgomery Improvement Association (thesis)
See also
References
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- ^ a b c d Capuzzo, Mike (December 5, 1989). "Ralph Abernathy's Judgment Day With His Autobiography, He Hoped To Secure His Place In Civil-rights History. But Two Pages Of The Book Proved To Be His Undoing — And Earned Him The Label Of Judas". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Archived from the original on April 2, 2015. Retrieved March 21, 2015.
- . Retrieved August 22, 2022.
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- ^ a b "Abernathy, Ralph David". The Martin Luther King Jr. Research and Education Institute. Stanford University. April 18, 2017. Retrieved December 3, 2019.
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- ^ a b "Ralph Abernathy Biography". Advameg, Inc. Archived from the original on April 2, 2015. Retrieved March 13, 2015.
- ^ a b Banks, Adelle (January 19, 2015). "Rev. Ralph Abernathy: Martin Luther King Jr.'s Overlooked 'Civil Rights Twin'". Huffington Post. Religion News Service. Archived from the original on March 18, 2015. Retrieved March 12, 2015.
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- ^ a b Williams, Kenneth (February 2000). "American National Biography Online: Abernathy, Ralph David". American National Biography Online. Archived from the original on April 5, 2015. Retrieved March 14, 2015.
- ^ "Ralph Abernathy". WGBH. PBS. Archived from the original on March 17, 2015. Retrieved March 13, 2015.
- ^ a b c "Ralph D. Abernathy Biography". A&E Television Networks, LLC. Bio. Archived from the original on March 12, 2015. Retrieved March 13, 2015.
- ^ a b "International Civil Rights: Walk of Fame — Juanita Abernathy". nps.gov. National Park Service. Retrieved March 13, 2015.
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- ^ Abernathy, Ralph (May 28, 1958). "The Martin Luther King Jr. Papers Project: From Ralph Abernathy" (PDF). The Martin Luther King Jr. Research Institute. Stanford University. Archived (PDF) from the original on May 6, 2011. Retrieved March 17, 2015.
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- ^ a b Turk, Dave. "An Emergency Call to Montgomery". The United States Marshals Service. Archived from the original on April 2, 2015. Retrieved March 17, 2015.
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Further reading
- Kirkland, W. Michael (April 27, 2004). "Ralph Abernathy (1926–1990)". The New Georgia Encyclopedia. Athens, GA: Georgia Humanities Council. OCLC 54400935. Archived from the originalon June 18, 2013. Retrieved February 12, 2008.
- Abernathy, Ralph (1989). And the Walls Came Tumbling Down. New York: Harper & Row. ISBN 0-06-016192-2.
- Garrow, David: The Walking city: the Montgomery Bus Boycott, 1955-1956; Carlson; 1989; ISBN 0-926019-03-1
External links
- Appearances on C-SPAN
- Ralph Abernathy article, Encyclopedia of Alabama Archived October 31, 2013, at the Wayback Machine
- Ralph Abernathy at Find a Grave
- Ralph Abernathy Biography, The Civil Rights Struggle, African American GIs, and Germany
- The Jack Rabin Collection on Alabama Civil Rights and Southern Activists includes video, pictures and materials of Dr. Abernathy during the Selma to Montgomery March
- Ralph Abernathy on the WGBH series The Ten O'Clock News.
- FBI file on Ralph Abernathy
- Ralph Abernathy on Night Call program in 1968