And the Walls Came Tumbling Down: An Autobiography

Ralph David Abernathy

ISBN 10: 0060161922 / ISBN 13: 9780060161927

Published by Harper & Row Publishers, New York, 1989

About this Item

Inscribed and dated in the year of publication by author on half title page. BONUS is a laid-in note signed by Rev. Abernathy's wife, Juanita J. Abernathy--a thank you note acknowledging the receipt of well-wishes upon the 1990 death of Rev. Abernathy. Making signed copies rare, Rev. Abernathy died in the year after this book's 1989 publication, on April 17, 1990, 153 days after this book was inscribed. Abernathy's gravestone reads "I tried"; the same "I tried" statement is on the cover of the thank you note. Rev. Abernathy met Martin Luther King in 1954 and initially served as a mentor to King, a new minister, three years junior to Abernathy. The DJ describes Abernathy as "Joshua to Martin Luther King's Moses--at his side during all the battles and eventually his successor." It was in Rev. Abernathy's arms that Dr. King died, outside the Lorraine Motel. Juanita Abernathy was recognized by the late Rep. John Lewis as "a cornerstone" of the Montgomery Bus Boycott. She wrote the business plan for the 1955 event. Upon her 2019 death, a family spokesperson recognized her as "the last remaining major organizer" of the civil rights movement No markings noted other than inscription, signature and date. First printing with full numberline beginning at 1. Book has been read but gently so. Text block slightly skewed, normal shelf wear, some stains to edges (se photos). DJ unclipped with $25.00 price intact. DJ is bumped, has some wrinkling and a 3/4" closed tear at top rear hinge. Also a long strip of cellophane transparent tape to rear, with no purpose (i.e., it's not mending a tear).

Seller Inventory # 000632

Bibliographic Details

• Title: And the Walls Came Tumbling Down: An Autobiography
• Publisher: Harper & Row Publishers, New York
• Publication Date: 1989
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0060161922
• ISBN 13: 9780060161927
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition: 1st Edition
• Printing: 1st Printing
• Condition: Good
• Dust Jacket Condition: Good
• Signed: Inscribed by Author(s)

About this title

Synopsis

A leading figure in the Civil Rights movement and an intimate friend of Martin Luther King, Jr. describes his own life, the murder of King, and his continuing struggle for freedom, dignity, and human rights.

Reviews

Abernathy's autobiographical account of the birth and struggles of the civil rights movement is inspirational and deeply moving. With Martin Luther King Jr., his closest colleague, he helped organize the 1955 Montgomery bus boycott and the 1965 march in Selma, Ala.; he and King went north to Chicago in 1966, where they battled Mayor Richard Daley and found racism as endemic and deep-rooted as in the South. He cradled King in his arms when the latter was assassinated in Memphis. Son of a stern, righth- ous farmer father, Abernathy became a Baptist pastor after fighting in WW II with a segregated platoon. In a voice at once down-to-earth and eloquent, he recounts protests, jailings and bombings in Birmingham, St. Augustine, Washington, Charleston and elsewhere. He defends his support of Reagan's 1980 presidential bid, as well as his support, in the next two elections, for Jesse Jackson. Reading this engrossing, powerful memoir-as-history will force white Americans to confront the legacy of racism. Abernathy conveys a sense of how the civil rights movement discovered its tactics and direction in response to individual situations. Photos.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.

One opens the autobiography of Martin Luther King's closest associate and friend with excitement. Unfortunately, Abernathy makes slight contribution to what we know already about Montgomery, Selma, and the several other great episodes of the civil rights era upon which he focuses, and he entirely omits others, such as the 1963 March on Washington. Nor does he attempt to lure readers with intimate disclosures. Regarding political rivalry and sexual pastimes among movement leaders he is, on the whole, reticent. He is more interesting in the account of his 1980 endorsement (now regretted) of Ronald Reagan. When King chose Abernathy as his successor, he lacked power to transfer the stature he had won in civil-rights leadership, and Abernathy has always suffered in comparison. This autobiography, awkwardly and incompletely told, will not adjust his historical standing. Necessary only for collections in civil rights.
- Robert F. Nardini, N. Chichester, N . H .
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.