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Former NAACP Nat'l President to Speak at Alabama State University's Abernathy Lecture

Former NAACP Nat'l President to Speak at Alabama State University's Abernathy Lecture

Reginald Culpepper · Wednesday, November 29th 2017 at 2:58PM · 1200 views
Part of the commemoration of the 62nd Anniversary of the Montgomery Bus Boycott

WHEN: Monday (Dec. 4) from 6 - 8 p.m.
WHERE: First Baptist Church, 347 North Ripley Street, across from the MPD headquarters.

Alabama State University's National Center for the Study of Civil Rights & African-American Culture will host its annual Ralph D. Abernathy Civil Rights Lecture Series titled: "A Celebration of the 62nd Anniversary of the Montgomery Bus Boycott," which will take place on Monday (December 4, 2017. The event will take place at the First Baptist Church, 347 North Ripley Street, from 6-8 p.m.

It is free and open to the public.

This year’s theme is “The Mass Meetings of the Montgomery Bus Boycott: The Audacity of Courage and Commitment.”

Cornell William Brooks, activist and former president of the NAACP, will serve as the guest speaker.

The program is designed to recapture the spirit of the boycott’s Mass Meetings through music and oratory. Attendees will include local civic and civil rights leaders, ASU administrators, faculty, civil rights activists, staff, students, members of the clergy, and individuals who continue to hold in high esteem the gallant efforts of Montgomery's black citizens who successfully challenged discrimination on municipal buses. The program will also pay tribute to ASU civil rights activists involved in the Montgomery Bus Boycott.

About Rev. Ralph D. Abernathy
In 1946, Abernathy began a lifetime of activism as a student leader at Alabama State University, where he led protests against cafeteria food and inadequate housing for military veterans. After graduating from ASU in 1950 and receiving a master’s degree from Atlanta University, Abernathy returned to employment at his alma mater and to pastor the First Baptist Church on Ripley St. in Montgomery.

In 1955, Abernathy helped organize the Montgomery Improvement Association and worked with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. as a key leader of the Montgomery Bus Boycott. The remainder of Abernathy’s life was dedicated to the struggle for blacks’ full constitutional rights in the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, which he also helped organize in 1957. He served as president of the SCLC after King’s assassination in 1968 until 1977. This civil rights stalwart is recognized internationally for his outstanding contributions to civil and human rights.

Event Information
Date: Monday (Dec 4).
Time: 6 p.m. - 8 p.m.
First Baptist Church
347 N. Ripley Street
Montgomery, AL 36104

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