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And the Walls Came Tumbling Down: An Autobiography (Hardcover)

~ Ralph David Abernathy (Author)
5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)

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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

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.


From Library Journal

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.

Product Details

  • Hardcover: 638 pages
  • Publisher: Harpercollins; 1st edition (November 1991)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0060161922
  • ISBN-13: 978-0060161927
  • Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.2 x 2.1 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 2.4 pounds
  • Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.com Sales Rank: #625,206 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Ralph Abernathy
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23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Not what you've been led to believe, July 20, 2001
By Andre M. "brnn64" (Mt. Pleasant, SC United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   
When this first came out around 1990, stupid rumors abounded that Dr.King's right-hand-man and surrogate brother had written a sleazy text about Dr. King's sex life. This bunch of hogwash and the cruel responses by people who beleived the hype drove Dr. Abernathy to his grave! This is actually a very good book filled with interesting anecdotes about Dr. Abernathy's years as a soldier in the Civil Rights movement. However, he pulls no punches regarding the infighting that destroyed what was left of the movement after Dr. King's death. This is an important historical memoir by one who was certainly there.
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16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A well written, truthful biography of a powerful Movement.., April 22, 2005
By Superwoman "AJ" (San Diego, CA United States) - See all my reviews
  
I'm so glad I read this book, but am sorry it took me more than a decade to learn that Dr. Abernathy hadn't "sold out" Martin Luther King as was reported in the media when this book was first published. Unfortunately, Dr. Abernathy died before he knew all of black America hadn't turned on him. He told a truthful story of a movement led by strong, yet very "human" men and women. None of us are without our weaknesses, but those weaknesses do not define the total of who we are. Just as Dr. Abernathy's depiction of the weaknesses in himself and in Dr. King don't define the whole tone of this book. I'm glad I read it, and I shared it with my mother who also read it from cover to cover with relish. I appreciate the MLK's and the Ralph David Abernathy's who made such a sacrifice so I could have the rights of every other human being living in the United States.
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18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars truth without varnish, September 30, 2002
Ralph Abernathy wrote his life's story warts and all. He also spoke honestly about his dear friend, Doc and his private life. Doc was Martin Luther King Jr. and a lot of people reacted almost violently to the revelations in the book. Abernathy was called a traitor, a Judas and an Uncle Tom. He was also accused of being senile or insane with jealousy of Dr. King's memory. Sadly, with all the name calling people forgot or ignored the fact that it's a good autobiography and a valuable edition to the historical record of the Civil Rights movement.
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5.0 out of 5 stars From A Man Who Was There
As a historian, nothing is more relished than a book written in the first person and historical events that one has lived through. Rev. Read more
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5.0 out of 5 stars The Most Powerful Civil Rights Collection of stories
I have ever read- Ralph David Abernathy gave a beautiful window into the realities of America's struggles with racism. Read more
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