March 11 …

Ralph David Abernathy, Sr. was born on March 11, 1926 on his family’s farm in Linden, AL. He was an American civil rights activist, a member of the NAACP since 1951, and a Christian minister, having been ordained in the Baptist tradition in 1948.

Ralph Abernathy was one of the main organizers of the Montgomery Bus Boycott in 1955 and helped Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. found the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) in 1957.

He was arrested 19 times for civil rights activities during the 1950s and 1960s. Following the King assassination, Abernathy assumed leadership of SCLC and directed the Poor People’s March on Washington.

In 1977, Abernathy resigned from SCLC and made an unsuccessful bid for a congressional seat. He then devoted his energies to the Foundation for Economic Enterprises Development, which worked to provide economic opportunities for Blacks.

Ralph David Abernathy also served as the pastor of Atlanta’s West Hunter Street Baptist Church.