Ralph David Abernathy

The story begins in March, 1926, with the birth of "Little David" in the segregated Alabama agricultural community of Hopewell. His father, W. L. Abernathy, owned almost 500 acres of rich farmland, worked exceedingly hard, and, despite the color of his skin, was a highly respected man. Growing up in such relatively well-to-do circumstances, and in spite of the fact that there were twelve children to provide for, Abernathy admits that

we never wanted for any of life's necessities. Everything I learned about the Great Depression was from a college textbook. We didn't know that people were lining up at soup kitchens in cities all over the country because we raised cattle, hogs, and chickens so we had beef, pork, chicken, eggs, and milk. My father killed thirty to forty hogs a year, and whenever we wanted beef he would kill a calf. . . .

. . .
ater that same year he was elected president of the junior class at Alabama State, and led another protest--this time over barely tolerable living conditions in former barracks donated for dormitories. There, the few showers that actually worked delivered only cold water, most of the toilets failed to flush, and there was no heat in the winter. Another visit to Dr. Trenholm's office was pivotal in getting improvements made to the barracks (84-85). And, again, Abernathy believes "that my later dealings with mayors, governors, and presidents were significantly facilitated by these two meetings in Dr. Trenholm's office. As a matter of fact, no man ever intimidated me the same way that Dr. Trenholm did" (85). The fourth chapter of Abernathy's book, entitled "The Summer of 1950," is a rambling, somewhat disjointed, account of his first few years out of school, his stint as a disc-jockey, the beginnings of his ministry and his introduction to "a young guest preacher who's supposed to be pretty good . . . his name is Martin Luther King, Jr." (89), his unfortunate experience with one church as he was about to leave to pastor the First Baptist Church of Montgomery, his marriage to Juanita Odessa Jones, and the death of their first-b
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Approximate Word count = 2818
Approximate Pages = 11 (250 words per page)

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