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[Pages H7908-H7909]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
{time} 1015
TRIBUTE TO THE LIFE AND LEGACY OF JUANITA ABERNATHY
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from
Alabama (Ms. Sewell) for 5 minutes.
[[Page H7909]]
Ms. SEWELL of Alabama. Madam Speaker, today, I rise to honor the
remarkable life and legacy of Mrs. Juanita Abernathy, a selfless leader
in the struggle for civil rights whose direction and tireless
engagement was an integral part in the movement of civil rights and
voting rights in America. She, sadly, passed earlier this month.
From the Montgomery bus boycott to the marches from Selma to
Montgomery and onward to Washington, D.C., and beyond, Mrs. Abernathy
played a key role in our Nation's proudest instance of civic
engagement. She fought boldly alongside her husband, Reverend Dr. Ralph
Abernathy, and her dear friends and fellow architects of the movement,
Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and Mrs. Coretta Scott King.
While many male leaders of the civil rights movement have rightfully
become household names, the women of the movement, whose struggles and
sacrifices were equal and whose participation was necessary, have not
enjoyed the same recognition. Mrs. Juanita Abernathy was a brilliant,
courageous leader in her own right, and today, we recognize her
remarkable and distinct contributions.
Mrs. Abernathy was born on December 1, 1931, in Uniontown, Alabama.
She was the youngest of eight children born to Alexander and Ella
Gilmore Jones. In the ninth grade, she met her future husband, Reverend
Dr. Ralph Abernathy, who wrote in his memoir that he was impressed by
her audacious spirit and her inherent dignity. In 1952, after Mrs.
Abernathy finished her B.S. in business education at Tennessee State
University, she and Dr. Ralph Abernathy were married.
Mrs. and Reverend Abernathy moved to Montgomery, Alabama, where she
became the secretary for the Alabama chapter of the NAACP and taught
high school courses on business education while Reverend Abernathy
became the pastor of the First Baptist Church on Ripley Street.
In 1955, around the family dining room table, Mrs. Abernathy wrote a
business plan for the Montgomery bus boycott, a plan that later served
as a blueprint for the civil rights movement. Meant to last only 1 day,
the Montgomery bus boycott went on for 381 days, eventually leading to
the courts desegregating public transit.
In retaliation to the success of the Montgomery bus boycott, the
Abernathy home was bombed. Reverend Abernathy was in Atlanta at the
time, but it was said that Mrs. Abernathy and her children only
survived because the bomb landed off by 2 feet.
Over the years, Mrs. Abernathy endured terror, harassment, and
unbridled hatred from white supremacists in her community and beyond.
Yet, in the face of unimaginable threats, she maintained her innate
dignity and bravery.
In 1961, Mrs. Abernathy and her husband moved to Atlanta, Georgia,
where she worked closely with the King family to integrate Atlanta's
public schools.
At this same time, understanding the link between race and economic
inequality in this country, Mrs. Abernathy fought to establish a
national food stamp program for low-income families and a national free
meal program for public schoolchildren.
A true servant leader, Mrs. Abernathy's brilliant mind, full heart,
and resilient spirit should remind all of us of what constitutes a full
and wonderful life.
On a personal note, I was honored to get to know Mrs. Abernathy
during her many pilgrimages to my hometown of Selma, Alabama, for the
annual commemoration of Bloody Sunday and the Selma to Montgomery
marches.
She was a powerful voice for change and a proud product of Alabama's
Black Belt who passionately protected the legacy of her husband and
their lifelong work together to advance civil rights.
Mrs. Abernathy graciously encouraged me to run for Congress and
honored me with her presence in my hometown of Selma on election night
when I won in November 2010. I saw in her face that night the pride she
felt witnessing the election of Alabama's first Black Congresswoman. I
prevailed because of her personal courage and sacrifice that paved the
way for future generations of Black children like me to succeed.
Madam Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in paying tribute and
honor to Alabama native Mrs. Juanita Jones Abernathy on the passing of
this civil rights icon and true American heroine, whose tremendous
efforts helped propel our Nation toward a more perfect Union.
____________________
