Remembering Civil Rights Leader Rev. Ralph Abernathy

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From the West Alabama Newsroom– This is the 60th anniversary of the start of the Montgomery Bus Boycott. One of the key figures during the boycott was a Baptist preacher from a small town in Marengo County.

Linden native — Rev. Ralph David Abernathy — was the pastor of First Baptist Church in Montgomery — and one of the leaders of the Montgomery Bus Boycott. He was also one of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s closest advisors — and his best friend.

Abernathy’s family owns and operates a funeral home in Linden.

“He was Martin Luther King right-hand man so I was proud of him, proud of what they was doing and everything,” said nephew, Reginal Abernathy, Sr.

Abernathy and King were co-founders of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference — which became one of the most prominent civil rights organizations in the south.