Juanita Abernathy
Juanita Abernathy | |
|---|---|
 Abernathy in 1970 | |
| Born | Juanita Odessa Jones December 1, 1931 Uniontown, Alabama, U.S. |
| Died | September 12, 2019 (aged 87) Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. |
| Alma mater | Tennessee State University |
| Occupations | Civil rights activist, educator, businesswoman |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 5, including Donzaleigh and Ralph III |
Juanita Odessa Jones Abernathy (December 1, 1931 – September 12, 2019) was an American civil rights activist. She was the wife of fellow civil rights activist Ralph Abernathy.[1]
Biography
[edit]Abernathy was born on December 1, 1931, in Uniontown, Alabama. She studied at Selma University[2] and the Tennessee State University, graduating from both. She worked as an educator and saleswoman for Mary Kay Cosmetics.[3][4] She also served on the board of trustees for the Morehouse School of Religion, and on the board of directors for the Atlanta Fulton County League of Women Voters and the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority.[4]
Abernathy was a part of the team that organized the Montgomery bus boycott of December 1955 through December 1956.[5][6] She lived in Montgomery until January 1957, when her home, which was the meetingplace for organizing the boycott, was bombed by white supremacists; afterward she moved to Atlanta.[7][8] In 1965, she walked in the Selma to Montgomery marches.[4] She and her husband, Ralph Abernathy, were key members in the founding of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.[6]
In 2013, Abernathy was honored by the Atlanta City Council with a proclamation.[9]
She married Ralph Abernathy on August 31, 1952.[10][11][3] Together, they had five children: Ralph David Abernathy Jr., Juandalynn Ralpheda, Donzaleigh Avis, Ralph David Abernathy III, and Kwame Luthuli Abernathy.[11][12] Abernathy Jr. died at two days old, while their other children lived on to adulthood.[12] She enrolled her children into white schools to fight segregation in schools.[7] She died on September 12, 2019, aged 87, in Atlanta.[6]
References
[edit]- ^ "U.S. Civil Rights Advocate Juanita Abernathy Dies at 88". Time. Archived from the original on September 13, 2019.
- ^ "Juanita Abernathy Bio". Multicultural Symposium Series.
- ^ a b Booker, Brakkton (September 13, 2019). "Juanita Abernathy, 'Cornerstone' Of Montgomery Bus Boycott, Dies At 87". NPR. NPR.
- ^ a b c "International Civil Rights: Walk of Fame - Juanita Abernathy". www.nps.gov.
- ^ Montgomery Bus Boycott ~ Civil Rights Movement Archive
- ^ a b c Seelye, Katharine Q. (September 13, 2019). "Juanita Abernathy, a Force in the Civil Rights Movement, Dies at 88". The New York Times.
- ^ a b Karimi, Faith. "Civil rights leader Juanita Abernathy dies at 87". CNN.
- ^ Bentley, Rosalind; Suggs, Ernie. "Juanita Abernathy, civil rights icon, dies". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
- ^ Suggs, Ernie. "Juanita Abernathy honored by Atlanta City Council for civil rights work". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
- ^ "Ralph D. Abernathy - Pastor". Biography. Retrieved September 23, 2019.
- ^ a b "International Civil Rights: Walk of Fame — Juanita Abernathy". nps.gov. National Park Service. Retrieved March 13, 2015.[dead link]
- ^ a b Klotter, James (2005). The Human Tradition in the New South. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. p. 177. ISBN 1461600960.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National |
- 1931 births
- 2019 deaths
- African-American activists
- People from Uniontown, Alabama
- Selma University alumni
- Tennessee State University alumni
- 21st-century African-American people
- Members of the League of Women Voters
- Activists for African-American civil rights
- American women civil rights activists
- Civil rights activists from Alabama