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Ralph David Abernathy, Sr. (March 11, 1926 – April 17, 1990) was a leader of the African-American Civil Rights Movement, a minister, and Martin Luther King Jr.'s closest friend. In 1955, he collaborated with King to create the Montgomery Improvement Association, which would lead to the Montgomery Bus Boycott. In 1957, Abernathy co-founded, and was an executive board member of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). Following the assassination of King, Abernathy became president of the SCLC. As president of the SCLC, he led the Poor People's Campaign March on Washington, D.C. in 1968. Abernathy also served as an advisory committee member of the Congress on Racial Equality (CORE). He later returned to the ministry, and in 1989 — the year before his death — Abernathy wrote a controversial autobiography about his and King's involvement in the civil rights movement. The title of his publication is "And the Walls Came Tumbling Down: An Autobiography" and is still available. ==Early life and education== Abernathy, one of William and Louivery Abernathy's 11 children, was born on March 11, 1926 on their family farm in Linden, Alabama.〔 Abernathy's father, was the first African-American to vote in Marengo County, Alabama, and the first to serve on a grand jury there.〔 Abernathy attended Linden Academy, a Baptist school founded by the First Mt. Pleasant District Association. At Linden Academy, Abernathy led his first demonstration, to protest the inferior science lab; the school improved the science lab as a result of his persistent actions.〔(【引用サイトリンク】 title=Ralph Abernathy Biography )〕 During World War II, he enlisted in the United States Army, and rose to the rank of Platoon Sergeant before earning an honorable discharge as a result of his bout of rheumatic fever in Europe.〔 Afterwards, he enrolled at Alabama State University using the benefits from the G.I. Bill, which he earned with his service. As a sophomore he was elected president of the student council, and led a successful hunger strike to raise the quality of the food served on the campus.〔 While still a college student, Abernathy announced his call to the ministry, which he had envisioned since he was a small boy growing up in a devout Baptist family. He was ordained a Baptist minister in 1948, and preached his first sermon on Mother's Day, in honor of his recently deceased mother. In 1950 he graduated with a bachelor's degree in Mathematics.〔 During that summer Abernathy hosted a radio show and became the first black man on radio in Montgomery, Alabama.〔 In the fall, he then went on to further his education at Atlanta University.〔 And, in 1951, Abernathy earned his Master of Science degree in sociology with High Honors.〔 His master's thesis, "The Natural History of A Social Movement: The Montgomery Improvement Association", was published by Carlson Publishing in David Garrow's book ''The Walking City – The Montgomery Bus Boycott, 1955-1956''. He began his professional career in 1951, when he was appointed as the Dean of Men at Alabama State University. Later that year, he became the Senior Pastor of the First Baptist Church, the largest black church in Montgomery, where he served for ten years.〔〔 He married Juanita Odessa Jones of Uniontown, Alabama, on August 31, 1952.〔〔 Together they had five children: Ralph David Abernathy Jr., Juandalynn Ralpheda, Donzaleigh Avis, Ralph David III, and Kwame Luthuli Abernathy. Their first child, Ralph Abernathy Jr., died suddenly on August 18, 1953 - less than 2 days after his birth on August 16.〔 In 1954, Abernathy met Martin Luther King Jr., who — at the time — was just becoming a pastor himself at a nearby church. Abernathy mentored King and the two men eventually became close friends.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Ralph Abernathy」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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