April 17 - BlackFacts Black History Minute

BlackFacts.com presents the black fact of the day for April 17.

Ralph Abernathy passed away.

He was a pastor and civil rights leader who was Martin Luther King’s chief aide and closest associate during the civil rights movement of the 1950s and ’60s.

He was ordained a Baptist minister in 1948 and preached his first sermon on Mother's Day. In 1950 he graduated with a bachelor's degree in mathematics.

After the arrest of Rosa Parks on December 1, 1955, Abernathy collaborated with King to create the Montgomery Improvement Association (MIA),which organized the Montgomery bus boycott.

The King/Abernathy partnership spearheaded successful nonviolent movements in many cities. They journeyed together, often sharing the same hotel rooms, and leisure times with their wives, children, family, and friends.  

They were both jailed 17 times together, for their involvement in the movement.

After the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. in 1968, the leadership of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) was  transferred to Ralph Abernathy, who presided until 1977.

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