Activists & Reformers Codexery

Ralph Abernathy

Baptist minister, civil rights leader and Martin Luther King Jr.'s closest partner in the movement.

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Ralph Abernathy

via Wikipedia: Ralph Abernathy · see source

Ralph David Abernathy Sr. (March 11, 1926 – April 17, 1990) was an American Baptist minister and one of the central figures of the civil rights movement. A close friend and mentor to Martin Luther King Jr., he helped form the Montgomery Improvement Association, which ran the Montgomery bus boycott, and sat on the executive board of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). After King was assassinated in 1968, Abernathy took over as president of the SCLC and led the Poor People's Campaign in Washington, D.C. His later work ranged from addressing the United Nations on world peace to testifying for the Voting Rights Act.

(Reverend Ralph David Abernathy, head-and-shoulders portrait, facing right, speaking at a National Press Club luncheon, Washington, D.C.) (LOC) - Flickr - The Library of Congress
(Reverend Ralph David Abernathy, head-and-shoulders portrait, facing right, speaking at a National Press Club luncheon, Washington, D.C.) (LOC) - Flickr - The Library of Congress. Image: The Library of Congress from Washington, DC, United States · No restrictions · Wikimedia Commons

Lore & Background

Abernathy grew up on a 500 acre family farm in Linden, Alabama, one of 12 children; his father William was the first African-American to vote in Marengo County. He served in the United States Army during World War II, rising to platoon sergeant, then studied at Alabama State University on the G.I. Bill, where he led a hunger strike over campus food. Ordained in 1948, he earned a mathematics degree and later a Master of Arts in sociology from Atlanta University in 1951.

Abernathy Children on front line leading the SELMA TO MONTGOMERY MARCH for the RIGHT TO VOTE
Abernathy Children on front line leading the SELMA TO MONTGOMERY MARCH for the RIGHT TO VOTE. Image: Abernathy Family · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

That year he became senior pastor of the First Baptist Church in Montgomery. He met King in 1954, and after the arrest of Rosa Parks the two organized the 381-day boycott that ended in December 1956. Bombers later struck his home and church, and in 1962 he moved to the West Hunter Street Baptist Church in Atlanta.

Abernathy Children Lead The SELMA TO MONTGOMERY MARCH with Martin Luther King, Ralph David Abernathy, Juanita Jones Abernathy, Coretta Scott King and hundreds of Marchers.
Abernathy Children Lead The SELMA TO MONTGOMERY MARCH with Martin Luther King, Ralph David Abernathy, Juanita Jones Abernathy, Coretta Scott King and hundreds of Marchers.. Image: Mrsdonzaleighabernathy · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Did You Know?

Frequently Asked Questions

What role did Ralph Abernathy play in the Montgomery bus boycott?

Working with King and E. D. Nixon, he helped create the Montgomery Improvement Association, which organized the boycott after Rosa Parks was arrested.

When did Abernathy lead the SCLC?

He became president after King's assassination in 1968 and retired from the post in 1977, becoming president emeritus.

How did Ralph Abernathy die?

He died of heart disease on April 17, 1990.

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Test yourself

Three questions drawn from this entry’s sources. Pick an answer to check it.

1. In which place was Ralph Abernathy born?

Correct.

Not quite. The answer is Linden, Alabama, U.S..

2. In what year did Ralph Abernathy die?

Correct.

Not quite. The answer is 1990.

From the source: “Abernathy died of heart disease on April 17, 1990.”

3. In what year was Ralph Abernathy born?

Correct.

Not quite. The answer is 1926.

From the source: “and Louivery Valentine Abernathy ( Bell)'s 12 children, was born on March 11, 1926, on their 500 acre family farm in Linden, Alabama.”

Answers checked against the source article

Sources

Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.

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