Subseries 3.1
Ralph David Abernathy files, 1958-1968
Boxes 168 - 172
Biographical Note
Ralph David Abernathy (1926-1990) was born David Abernathy in Linden, Alabama. As a teenager, his sister nicknamed him "Ralph David" after an admired professor and the name stuck. He served in the Army during World War II, was ordained as a Baptist minister in 1948, and graduated from Alabama State University in 1950. He received a master's degree in sociology from Atlanta University in 1951 and went on to serve as pastor of the First Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama. A year later, he married Juanita Odesssa Jones, and it was during his time in Montgomery that he met and befriended Martin Luther King, Jr.
Abernathy and King marched and worked side by side throughout the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s, and were each among the founders of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference in 1957. Abernathy served the organization first as Secretary/Treasurer and then as Vice President at Large. As Vice President, he was handpicked by King to be successor to the presidency. Also as Vice President, Abernathy assumed a primary role in planning the Poor People's Campaign, with which he continued to be actively involved as president. After King was assassinated on April 4, 1968, Abernathy accepted the position of president of SCLC. In this role, Abernathy continued to speak on the necessity of voting rights and equal rights for all, but became much more vocal on the issues of poverty and labor. Efforts such as SCLC's involvement with the Charleston, South Carolina Hospital Worker's strike in 1969 reflect this shift. Abernathy resigned from SCLC in 1977 to run for Congress. Though he lost the race, he continued to be an active member and President Emeritus of the SCLC throughout the 1980s. Abernathy served as pastor of West Hunter Street Baptist Church in Atlanta from 1961 until his death in 1990. He published an autobiography, And the Walls Came Tumbling Down, in 1989.
Scope and Content Note
The subseries consists of the records of SCLC Vice President at Large Ralph David Abernathy from 1958 through approximately April 4, 1968, including correspondence, office files, speaking engagement files and statements. The subseries contains records from Abernathy's tenure as Vice President (1965-1968), as well as a small amount of material from his time as Treasurer (1958-1965). Correspondence in the subseries is of a general nature, reflecting both Abernathy's responsibilities within SCLC and his activities outside the organization. Most significant in Abernathy's records are invitations and correspondence regarding his national and international speaking engagements. Additionally, the subseries has a significant amount of information regarding the 1965 national campaign to boycott the state of Alabama. See Subseries 2.2: Ralph David Abernathy files, for the records of Abernathy's presidency, including additional correspondence, writings, speeches, statements, administrative files, and subject files.
Arrangement Note
Correspondence, speeches and statements are arranged in chronological order. Office files are arranged in alphabetical order.
| Correspondence | ||
| Box | Folder | Content |
|---|---|---|
| 168 | 1 | Undated |
| 168 | 2 | 1963 |
| 168 | 3 | 1964 January-June |
| 168 | 4 | 1964 July-December |
| 168 | 5 | 1965 circa |
| 168 | 6 | 1965 January |
| 168 | 7 | 1965 February |
| 168 | 8 | 1965 March |
| 168 | 9 | 1965 April |
| 168 | 10 | 1965 May |
| 168 | 11 | 1965 June |
| 168 | 12 | 1965 July |
| 168 | 13 | 1965 August |
| 169 | 1 | 1965 September |
| 169 | 2 | 1965 October |
| 169 | 3 | 1965 November |
| 169 | 4 | 1965 December |
| 169 | 5 | 1966 January-May |
| 169 | 6 | 1966 June-December |
| 169 | 7 | 1967 |
| 170 | 1 | 1968 January-March |
| 170 | 2 | Contribution thank you letters, 1965-1968 |
| Office files | ||
| 170 | 3 | "Agreements Reached between Community and Government Negotiators Regarding New Jersey College of Medicine and Dentistry and Related Matters," 1968 |
| 170 | 4 | American Friends Service Committee, "Report Prepared for National Advisory Commission on Rural Poverty," 1967 |
| 170 | 5 | Board of Christian Education, 1963 |
| 170 | 6 | Boycott of the State of Alabama, 1965 [1 of 2] |
| 170 | 7 | Boycott of the State of Alabama, 1965 [2 of 2] |
| 170 | 8 | Christmas mailing list, 1966 |
| 170 | 9 | Circuit Court of Dallas County, Alabama protest order, 1965 |
| 170 | 10 | Citizenship Education Project, circa 1964 |
| 170 | 11 | Cleveland, Ohio leadership retreat report, 1967 |
| 170 | 12 | Committee report on evangelism, circa 1963 |
| 170 | 13 | Doe, Emmett T., court martial, 1968 |
| 170 | 14 | Eastern Airlines, 1966 |
| 170 | 15 | Executive staff, annual retreat, Birmingham, Alabama, 1964 |
| 170 | 16 | Executive staff, meeting agendas and minutes, 1964-1966 |
| 170 | 17 | Form letters, 1964 |
| 170 | 18 | Freedom Ride Coordinating Committee, 1961 |
| 170 | 19 | International Inter-religious Symposium on Peace, New Delhi, India, 1967-1968 |
| 171 | 1 | Jackson, Esther M., "Prospectus for a National Developmental Conference on 'The Role of the Arts as a Constructive Agent of Social Change,'" 1966 |
| 171 | 2 | Kanter, Adele, New York Office, 1962-1966 |
| 171 | 3 | Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, 1965 |
| 171 | 4 | King, Martin Luther (Reverend), Sr. 1965 |
| 171 | 5 | Lists of ministers, undated |
| 171 | 6 | Manning, Benjamin, speech, undated |
| 171 | 7 | Memoranda, 1963-1967 |
| 171 | 8 | Memoranda, 1968 |
| 171 | 9 | Memphis, Tennessee, April 4, 1968 |
| 171 | 10 | Movement poetry, undated |
| 171 | 11 | National Convention, 10th anniversary, 1967 |
| 171 | 12 | Negro Heritage Library, circa 1966 |
| 171 | 13 | New York Office, 1965-1966 |
| 171 | 14 | News releases, 1967 |
| 171 | 15 | Newsletters, 1965-1967 |
| 171 | 16 | Office recommendations report, 1965 |
| 171 | 17 | Operation Breadbasket, 1965-1967 [See also Subseries 10.4: Operation Breadbasket records] |
| 171 | 18 | Orangeburg Massacre, Orangeburg, South Carolina, 1968 |
| 171 | 19 | Personnel, circa 1965-1968 |
| 171 | 20 | Powell, Adam Clayton, 1967 |
| 171 | 21 | Proposal to purchase a building on Auburn Avenue, circa 1965 |
| 171 | 22 | "Remarks by Attorney Orzell Billingsley, Jr., Chairman of the Alabama Democratic Conference," 1965 |
| 171 | 23 | Report of the SCLC Printshop to the Board of Directors, 1967 |
| 172 | 1 | Report to the Board of Directors of the National Sharecroppers Fund, 1967 |
| 172 | 2 | SCLC building, 1968 |
| 172 | 3 | SCLC directory, circa 1960-1964 |
| 172 | 4 | SCLC Minority Group Conference, 1968 |
| 172 | 5 | Soul Force editorial planning notes, circa 1968 [See also Subseries 6.3: Publications] |
| 172 | 6 | Statement on the Civil Rights Act of 1965 |
| 172 | 7 | Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), 1960 |
| 172 | 8 | Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), International Seminar on Apartheid, Racial Discrimination and Colonialism in Southern Africa, Kitwe, Zambia, 1967 |
| 172 | 9 | Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), "SNCC: A Special Report on Southern School Desegregation," 1965 |
| 172 | 10 | Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), "The Student Voice Prospectus," 1967 |
| 172 | 11 | United Church Board for Homeless Ministries, 1965 |
| 172 | 12 | Vietnam, 1966-1968 |
| 172 | 13 | Washington Campaign for Jobs or Income Now, 1968 |
| 172 | 14 | Watts, Leon, circa 1967 |
| 172 | 15 | Western Christian Leadership Conference, Los Angeles, California, 1965 [See also Subseries 5.2: Chapter files] |
| 172 | 16 | White House Conference, "To Fulfill these Rights," 1966 |
| 172 | 17 | "Who's Who in SCLC" questionnaire, undated |
| Speaking engagements and statements | ||
| 172 | 18 | 1962 September 26, "The Nation and Its Unfinished Task," 6th Annual Convention of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, Birmingham |
| 172 | 19 | 1963 February 10, "There Is a Lad Here," Howard University, Washington, D.C. |
| 172 | 20 | 1964 May 19, "Love and Race Relations," American Baptist Convention, Atlantic City, New Jersey |
| 172 | 21 | 1964 July 12, Pre-Republican Convention civil rights rally, San Francisco, California |
| 172 | 22 | 1964 September 13, Berlin, Germany |
| 172 | 23 | 1964 October 14, "Education's Role in the War on Poverty," South Fallsburg, New York |
| 172 | 24 | 1964 October 25, Bennett College, Greensboro, North Carolina |
| 172 | 25 | 1964 October 29, Rocky Mt. Voters and Improvement League |
| 172 | 26 | 1964 October 30, First Baptist Church, Petersburg, Virginia |
| 172 | 27 | 1964 November 14, Norristown, Pennsylvania Branch, NAACP |
| 172 | 28 | 1965, St. Phillips AME Church, New York, New York |
| 172 | 29 | 1965 March 12, Regarding the death of Reverend James Reeb |
| 172 | 30 | 1965 April 11, Spelman College, Atlanta, Georgia |
| 172 | 31 | 1965 April 27, Morris Brown College, Atlanta, Georgia |
| 172 | 32 | 1965 May 10, Rockland County Conference on Race and Religion, Spring Valley, New York |
| 172 | 33 | 1965 May 16, Zion Baptist Church, Louisville, Kentucky |
| 172 | 34 | 1965 June 5, Syran Temple #49, Denver, Colorado |
| 172 | 35 | 1965 June 30, University of Rochester, New York |
| 172 | 36 | 1965 August 29, Pilgrim Missionary Baptist Church, Chicago, Illinois |
| 172 | 37 | 1965 September 17, Mt. Zion Second Baptist Church, Atlanta, Georgia |
| 172 | 38 | 1965 October 23, First Baptist Church, Burlington, North Carolina |
| 172 | 39 | 1965 October 31, "A Christian Movement in a Revolutionary Age," Second Baptist Church sermon, Detroit, Michigan |
| 172 | 40 | 1966 February 26, Human Relations Seminar, University of Hawaii, Honolulu, Hawaii |
| 172 | 41 | 1966 November 1, Brandeis University, Waltham, Massachusetts |
| 172 | 42 | 1966 December 30, Atlanta, Georgia |
| 172 | 43 | 1967 January 9, Atlanta, Georgia |
| 172 | 44 | 1967 January 10, Atlanta, Georgia |
| 172 | 45 | 1967 January 10, Atlanta, Georgia |
| 172 | 46 | 1968 January 3 |
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