Juanita Odessa Jones Abernathy (December 1, 1931 – September 12, 2019) was an American civil rights activist, and the wife of

Ralph Abernathy 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. Being the leader of the civil rights movement, he was a close frien ...

Life

Abernathy Children on front line leading the SELMA TO MONTGOMERY MARCH for the RIGHT TO VOTE

Juanita Odessa Jones was born in Uniontown, Alabama. She studied at Selma University and after it attended

Tennessee State University Tennessee State University (Tennessee State, Tenn State, or TSU) is a public historically black land-grant university in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1912, it is the only state-funded historically black university in Tennes ...

from which she later graduated as well. She worked as a teacher, and worked for Mary Kay Cosmetics. She also served on the board of trustees for the

Morehouse School of Religion The Interdenominational Theological Center (ITC) is a consortium of five predominantly African-American denominational Christian seminaries in Atlanta, Georgia, operating together as a professional graduate school of theology. It is the largest ...

, and on the board of directors for the Atlanta Fulton County

League of Women Voters The League of Women Voters (LWV) is a nonpartisan American nonprofit political organization. Founded in 1920, its ongoing major activities include Voter registration, registering voters, providing voter information, boosting voter turnout and adv ...

and the

Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority The Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA ) is the principal public transport operator in the Atlanta metropolitan area. Formed in 1971 as strictly a bus system, MARTA operates a network of Public transport bus service, bus route ...

. She was a part of the team that organized the

Montgomery bus boycott The Montgomery bus boycott was a political and social boycott, protest campaign against the policy of racial segregation on the public transit system of Montgomery, Alabama. It was a foundational event in the civil rights movement in the United ...

of December 1955 - December 1956. In 1957, her home was bombed. In 1965 she walked in the

Selma to Montgomery March The Selma to Montgomery marches were three protest marches, held in 1965, along the highway from Selma, Alabama, to the state capital of Montgomery. The marches were organized by nonviolent activists to demonstrate the desire of African-Amer ...

. In 2013, she was honored by the

Atlanta City Council The Atlanta City Council (formerly the Atlanta Board of Aldermen until 1974) is the main municipal legislative body for the city of Atlanta, Georgia, United States. It consists of 16 members: the council president, twelve members elected from di ...

with a proclamation.

Family

She married

on August 31, 1952. Together they had five children: Ralph David Abernathy Jr., Juandalynn Ralpheda, Donzaleigh Avis, Ralph David Abernathy III, and Kwame Luthuli Abernathy. Their first child, Ralph Abernathy Jr., died suddenly on August 18, 1953, less than 2 days after his birth on August 16, while their other children lived on to adulthood.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Abernathy, Juanita 1931 births 2019 deaths African-American activists People from Uniontown, Alabama Selma University alumni Tennessee State University alumni 21st-century African-American people Members of the League of Women Voters Activists for African-American civil rights American civil rights activists American women civil rights activists Activists from Alabama