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Ralph Abernathy
Born	February 11, 1926(1926-02-11) Linden, Alabama, USA
Died	April 17, 1990 (aged 64) Atlanta, Georgia, USA
Religious beliefs	Baptist
Spouse	Juanita Abernathy
Children	Kwame, Ralph David, Donzaleigh, Juandalynn

Ralph David Abernathy (March 11, 1926 – April 17, 1990) was an American civil rights activist and leader. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links Question_book-3. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (414x640, 32 KB) Summary From http://www. ... is the 42nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1926 (MCMXXVI) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Linden is a city located in Marengo County, Alabama. ... is the 107th day of the year (108th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1990 (MCMXC) was a common year starting on Monday (link displays the 1990 Gregorian calendar). ... Atlanta redirects here. ... Donzaleigh Abernathy, sometimes credited as Donzaleigh Avis Abernathy, is an American actress and writer. ... is the 70th day of the year (71st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1926 (MCMXXVI) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 107th day of the year (108th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1990 (MCMXC) was a common year starting on Monday (link displays the 1990 Gregorian calendar). ... Civil rights or positive rights are those legal rights retained by citizens and protected by the government. ...

Biography

Abernathy was born the son of a farmer in Linden, Alabama. After serving in the army during World War II, he enrolled at Alabama State University, in Montgomery, Alabama, graduating with a degree in mathematics in 1950. His involvement in political activism began in college while he was a member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, when he led demonstrations protesting the lack of heat and hot water in his dormitory and the dreadful food served in the cafeteria. In 1951 he earned a M.A. in sociology from Atlanta University (later Clark Atlanta University) and then became pastor of the First Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama. While living in Montgomery he formed a close and enduring partnership with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.. Linden is a city located in Marengo County, Alabama. ... The United States Army is the largest and oldest branch of the armed forces of the United States. ... Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... Alabama State Hornets logo Alabama State University, founded 1867, is a historically black university located in Montgomery, Alabama. ... Coordinates: , Country State County Montgomery Incorporated December 3, 1819 Government  - Mayor Bobby Bright Area  - City  156. ... For other meanings of mathematics or uses of math and maths, see Mathematics (disambiguation) and Math (disambiguation). ... Kappa Alpha Psi (KAΨ) is the second-oldest collegiate Greek-letter fraternity with a predominantly African American membership and the first black intercollegiate fraternity incorporated as a national body. ... Sociology (from Latin: socius, companion; and the suffix -ology, the study of, from Greek λόγος, lógos, knowledge [1]) is the systematic and scientific study of society, including patterns of social relationships, social action, and culture[2]. Areas studied in sociology can range from the analysis of brief contacts between anonymous... Clark Atlanta University is a private, undergraduate and graduate institution educational institution in Atlanta, Georgia. ... Martin Luther King, Jr. ...

In 1955, when Rosa Parks refused to move to the back of the bus, Abernathy and King organized the bus boycott in Montgomery. After a year of the boycott, it finally ended when the United States Supreme Court affirmed the U.S. District Court's ruling that segregation on buses was unconstitutional. Rosa Louise McCauley Parks (February 4, 1913 – October 24, 2005) was an African American civil rights activist and seamstress whom the U.S. Congress dubbed the Mother of the Modern-Day Civil Rights Movement. Parks is famous for her refusal on December 1, 1955 to obey bus driver James Blake... Rosa Parks arrested for refusing to give up her seat to a white man. ... The Supreme Court Building, Washington, D.C. The Supreme Court Building, Washington, D.C., (large image) The Supreme Court of the United States, located in Washington, D.C., is the highest court (see supreme court) in the United States; that is, it has ultimate judicial authority within the United States... The United States district courts are the general trial courts of the United States federal court system. ... Racial segregation characterised by separation of different races in daily life, such as eating in a restaurant, drinking from a water fountain, using a rest room, attending school, going to the movies, or in the rental or purchase of a home. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into constitutionality. ...

Abernathy was Martin Luther King's Number Two in the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, holding the official title of Secretary-Treasurer. Abernathy was with Martin Luther King in Memphis, Tennessee when King was assassinated; in fact, they shared Room 307 at the Lorraine Motel the night before. “Martin Luther King” redirects here. ... The Southern Christian Leadership Conference Logo. ... For other uses, see Memphis (disambiguation). ... Motel where Rev. ...

Abernathy assumed the presidency of the SCLC after King's death. Less than a week after the assassination, Abernathy led a march to support striking sanitation workers in Memphis, Tennessee. In May 1968 he, among others including Jesse Jackson, organized the Poor People's Campaign (PPC) March on Washington, D.C. Hoping to bring attention to the plight of the nation's impoverished, he constructed huts in the nation's capital, precipitating a showdown with the police. The settlement was named "Resurrection City"; Abernathy himself slept in a hotel during the campaign. On June 19 he held a speech at the Lincoln Memorial, in front of tens of thousands of black and white citizens. For other uses, see Memphis (disambiguation). ... Jesse Louis Jackson, Sr. ... For other uses, see Washington, D.C. (disambiguation). ... The Lincoln Memorial, in Washington, D.C., is a United States Presidential memorial built to honor 16th President Abraham Lincoln. ...

Lacking King's leadership and vision, the PPC at Resurrection City quickly became an embarrassment to the civil rights movement. Its demands were unreasonable, and did not fit the political mood of the country. Abernathy began to lose control of the situation to more fiery leaders like Jesse Jackson. Rapes and robberies among the camping protesters became a problem, and there was no police force to keep order. Eventually on June 24, the federal government had to move in, using force to disband the protesters. Abernathy was jailed for nearly three weeks following the collapse of this ill-planned enterprise.

On June 15, 1969, the eve of the launch of Apollo 11, Abernathy arrived at Cape Canaveral together with several hundred members of the Poor People's Campaign to protest the money being spent on space exploration, while so many people remained poor. He was met by Thomas O. Paine, the administrator of NASA, who 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. Paine told Abernathy that the advances in space exploration were child's play compared to the tremendously difficult human problems of the society, and told him that "if we could solve the problems of poverty by not pushing the button to launch men to the moon tomorrow, then we would not push that button." On the day of the launch, Abernathy led a small group of protesters in the restricted guest viewing area of the space center, chanting, "We are not astronauts, but we are people." The protest, which had originally been planned by Martin Luther King, failed to generate any support for Abernathy's cause. This article covers the Apollo 11 mission itself. ... Thomas Otten Paine (November 9, 1921 - May 4, 1992), American scientist, was the third Administrator of NASA, serving from March 21, 1969 to September 15, 1970. ...

Abernathy resigned in 1977 to run unsuccessfully for a Georgia congressional seat.

In 1980, Abernathy was the most prominent African American to endorse Ronald Reagan, along with Hosea Williams and Charles Evers. Abernathy later said he was very disappointed with the Reagan administration's civil rights policies, and he did not endorse him for reelection in 1984. Reagan redirects here. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Charles Evers (b. ...

In the 1980s Abernathy co-founded the American Freedom Coalition, with Robert Grant. The AFC received major funding from Sun Myung Moon's Unification Church and works in partnership with The Washington Times, CAUSA, the American Constitution Committee, and other Unification Church related organizations.^[1] Abernathy served as Vice President of American Freedom Coalition until his death in 1990. The American Freedom Coalition (AFC) is a group which seeks to unite conservatives to work toward what it believes are common goals, including anticommunism. ... Robert Grant may refer to: Robert Grant UConn (Romantic writer) (1779–1838), Romantic period writer Robert Grant (novelist) (1852–1940), 20th century novelist Robert Grant (soldier) (1837–1874), Victoria Cross recipient Robert Grant (Christian Leader) (*1936), radio personality, pastor, founder Christian Voice, American Christian Cause, American Freedom Coalition Robert Grant... Sun Myung Moon (born February 25, 1920; lunar: January 6, 1920) founded the Unification Church (later renamed Family Federation for World Peace and Unification) on May 1, 1954, in Seoul, South Korea. ... The Unification Church is a new religious movement started by Sun Myung Moon in Korea in the 1940s. ... The Washington Times[1] is a daily broadsheet newspaper published in Washington, D.C., United States. ... CAUSA is an ideological and political organization created by members of the Unification Church at the suggestion of Rev. ... The American Freedom Coalition (AFC) is a group which seeks to unite conservatives to work toward what it believes are common goals, including anticommunism. ...

Abernathy and his wife, Juanita, had four children. His younger son, Ralph David served as a Georgia State representative, his youngest daughter, Donzaleigh, is an actress and writer. Abernathy died on April 17, 1990 in Atlanta. Donzaleigh Abernathy, sometimes credited as Donzaleigh Avis Abernathy, is an American actress and writer. ... is the 107th day of the year (108th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1990 (MCMXC) was a common year starting on Monday (link displays the 1990 Gregorian calendar). ...

Abernathy received many awards, most notably honorary degrees from Long Island University in New York, Morehouse College in Atlanta, Kalamazoo College in Michigan, and his alma mater, Alabama State University. Interstate 20 and Abernathy Road, in Atlanta, are named in his honor. Long Island University (LIU) is a private university located on Long Island in the U.S. state of New York. ... Morehouse College is a private, four-year, all-male, historically black liberal arts college in Atlanta, Georgia. ... Kalamazoo College (K College or K) is a private, highly selective liberal arts college located in Kalamazoo, Michigan, United States. ... “I-20” redirects here. ...

See also

• American Civil Rights Movement (1896-1954)
• African-American Civil Rights Movement (1955-1968)
• Timeline of the American Civil Rights Movement

See also: American Civil Rights Movement (1955-1968) The civil rights movement in the United States has been a long, primarily nonviolent struggle to bring full civil rights and equality under the law to all Americans. ... Prominent figures of the African-American Civil Rights Movement. ... This is a timeline of the American Civil Rights Movement. ...

References

1. ^ Kim A. Lawton. "CT Classic: Unification Church Ties Haunt New Coalition", Christianity Today, August 2001. Retrieved on 2008-02-12. 

• Kirkland, W. Michael (27 April 2004). "Ralph Abernathy (1926-1990)". The New Georgia Encyclopedia. Athens, GA: Georgia Humanities Council. OCLC 54400935. Retrieved on 2008-02-12. 
• Abernathy, Ralph (1989). And the Walls Came Tumbling Down. New York: Harper & Row. ISBN 0060161922. 

2008 (MMVIII) is the current year, a leap year that started on Tuesday of the Anno Domini (or common era), in accordance to the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 43rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... The Online Computer Library Center (OCLC) was founded in 1967 and originally named the Ohio College Library Center. ... 2008 (MMVIII) is the current year, a leap year that started on Tuesday of the Anno Domini (or common era), in accordance to the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 43rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ...

External links