Civil-rights warning sounded
Conference speaker: Nation has been set back under Bush

Juanita Jones Abernathy, widow of the Rev. Ralph Abernathy, spoke to the Race and Relations Conference in Louisville. "The religious right, in a sense, has taken over our country in the name of God. But it is not the God I serve," she said. (PHOTOS BY BILL LUSTER, THE COURIER-JOURNAL)


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By Sheldon S. Shafer
sshafer@courier-journal.com
The Courier-Journal


Juanita Jones Abernathy made one of her first stands against racism more than a half-century ago, when she was 16 and waiting in the checkout line at a Piggly Wiggly market in her hometown of Uniontown, Ala.

A bag boy had carried a white woman's groceries to her car. But when Abernathy asked for the same service, the cashier said no. So Abernathy refused to pay for the groceries and stood her ground, even when police were called.

The widow of the Rev. Ralph Abernathy, a close associate of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., reflected on her experiences in an address to civil-rights adherents yesterday at the Galt House Hotel & Suites.

Speaking at the Louisville Metro Human Relations Commission's annual Race and Relations Conference, Abernathy used her longtime civil-rights involvement as a backdrop to describe America's problems and how they might be corrected.

The conference's theme was "Navigating Through Challenging Times." Its goal was to promote understanding and equal opportunity, and eliminate bias and hatred, said Kellie Watson, commission executive director.

Metro Mayor Jerry Abramson, the keynote speaker, said that the conference was intended "to engage our citizens in the ongoing dialogue about race relations" and that by attending people would be "more pro-active and better equipped to handle the challenges we face as a city."

Workshops focused on topics such as improving community-police relations; environmental problems in low-income neighborhoods; the racial achievement gap in local public schools; and how minority firms can do business with metro government.

About 180 people registered for the one-day conference, Watson said, with about 275 attending Abernathy's address.

Abernathy, whose husband died in 1990 and who heads a charitable foundation named in his honor, said she believes human rights have been set back during George W. Bush's presidency.

Bush "is an ultra-conservative. … This country had been moving forward, but now it's regressing. The religious right, in a sense, has taken over our country in the name of God. But it is not the God I serve."

She implored her listeners: "If we don't like it, we don't have to take it. … Nonviolence is our most potent weapon."

Abernathy, who rose to be a senior executive with Mary Kay Cosmetics, said those who grew up during the civil-rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s need to instill in today's youth an appreciation for the history and suffering of early activists.

"Unless we teach our children, they will never know," said Abernathy, a former schoolteacher.

Abernathy, who is writing her memoirs, said she "came from strong roots" and was raised in a family who taught her "that those with blessings were required to help others" and that "empowerment requires dignity and respect for others."

At least 40 years

We shall overcome!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Let them have it. When Intell moves there, I'll worry.

? not quite sure I know where your coming from ?