He was ridiculed for statements in the book about King's alleged marital infidelities. Abernathy eventually became less active in politics and returned to his work as a minister. He died of heart disease on April 17, 1990.

What was Ralph Abernathy legacy?

Abernathy and Dr. King led the Montgomery Bus Boycott in 1955-1956 and following Southern Christian Leadership Conference campaigns that dismantled the systems of racial segregation and political disenfranchisement of people of color across the nation.

What did Ralph Abernathy do for a living?

Ralph David Abernathy Sr.

(March 11, 1926 – April 17, 1990) was an American civil rights activist and Baptist minister. He was ordained in the Baptist tradition in 1948. As a leader of the civil rights movement, he was a close friend and mentor of Martin Luther King Jr.