And the Walls Came Tumbling Down: An Autobiography

About this book

Originally published in 1989 this beautifully written autobiography of the Rev. Dr. Ralph David AbernathyMartin Luther King Jr.s partner and eventual successornot only tells his own story but also expounds on the leaders he knew intimately including King Jesse Jackson Andrew Young and Lyndon Johnson among others. Revealing the planning that went into major protests and the negotiations that brought them to a close Abernathy chronicles a movement recalling the bitter defeats they faced the misery and deaths they suffered. Amidst these struggles though he celebrates the victories that integrated communities gave economic and political power to the disenfranchised and brought hope to people who had not dreamed of it. Throughout Abernathys close relationship with King is central to the storyand to the civil rights movement. In 1956 when Rosa Parks was arrested for refusing to give up her seat on a Montgomery bus it was Abernathy who enlisted King to join the protest. Together they led the landmark bus boycott for 381 days during which Abernathys house was bombed and his church dynamited. From there the two helped found the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) and they were jailed together more than 40 times. Their protests and marches took them all over the SouthSelma Albany Birminghamand to Washington and Chicago as well. An unsung hero of his era Abernathys inspiring memoir ultimately shows how their victories and even their setbacks led to social and legislative changes across the entire country.