Goddaughter of Dr. King, Donzaleigh Abernathy, to Give Keynote Address at SIUE’s 42nd Annual MLK Luncheon

Goddaughter of Dr. King, Donzaleigh Abernathy, to Give Keynote Address at SIUE's 42nd Annual MLK Luncheon

January 21, 2025, 11:36 PM

The actress-author and her siblings grew up with the King children and the Roberts family of actors

Southern Illinois University Edwardsville welcomes actress and author Donzaleigh Abernathy as the keynote speaker at the 42nd Annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration Luncheon. Abernathy features her father Reverend Doctor Ralph David Abernathy and his best friend and her godfather, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., in her coffee table pictorial "Partners To History, Martin Luther King, and the Civil Rights Movement," published by Random House/Crown. Attendees of the luncheon, hosted by SIUE's Kimmel Belonging and Engagement Hub, will hear first-hand accounts of Abernathy's time with her "Uncle Martin" and her father, Rev. Abernathy, who are two of the founders of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. She gives her remarks on Wednesday, Jan. 22 during the event, scheduled from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. in the Meridian Ballroom of the Morris University Center.

Donzaleigh Abernathy has had recurring roles on the TV series "EZ Streets," "Commander-In-Chief," "Lincoln Heights," "Dangerous Minds," and "Amazing Grace." She has starred in several television movies including "Fatal Exposure," "Abducted - A Father's Love," "Ned Blessing" and "Grassroots." She won the Tanne Foundation 2012 Artist Award for her work as an actress and for her script, "Birmingham Sunday."

For four years and more than 60 episodes, Abernathy was a series regular on Lifetime Television's critically acclaimed dramatic series, "Any Day Now." She has also starred and co-starred in numerous other television and film projects.

Before taking the stage at SIUE she answered a few questions about growing up as the daughter of Mr. Ralph David Abernathy and Mrs. Juanita Abernathy and "in the shadow" of "gentle giants."

How would you describe yourself?

I'm a work in progress, for sure. I grew up in the shadow of these absolutely amazing, humble, gentle giants, and because of them and their dedication and service to humanity, I feel as if I have a moral obligation to continue the work that they started.

I am the great granddaughter of slaves-not the granddaughter, but the great granddaughter-and so it really wasn't that long ago. And I stand on the shoulders of these incredible people. So for me, it's humbling what they accomplished, what they did, and how the world changed in my lifetime. And you know, my mother always used to say, to whom much is given, much is expected.

My sister [Juandalynn], myself, Yolanda King, Martin, Dexter, my brother, Ralph, Bernice and my little brother Kwame, we watched the world change in our lifetime, and we now have freedom and liberties that we didn't have growing up because of that.

There's a reason I'm here, and there's things that I need to do and I think we all need to do. But because we were raised under these amazing people who sacrificed and were never compensated for what they did-it was a labor of love for humanity-as their children, we each feel that we have to do our part. And so I have to do my part.

As an actress, you've been in numerous productions that reflect the state of America, when it comes to race. So how has the industry, you feel, measured up to telling America's story and what remains to be told?

There's so much to be told, and we have to tell our stories. We can't expect someone else to tell our stories, and it's really important now, because with the banning of books and the history of people of color trying to be denied in educational institutions, it's more important than ever that Hollywood rise up and tell our stories.

They have to be the stories of what "Sounder" was, or the great stories of "Roots" or "Ragtime," or the great sacrifices and incredible contributions that people of color made. And not only did Black people make these contributions, but Latino people have also made amazing contributions here in the United States of America and so have Asian people. Native Americans-you know the treaties that were written and those that were violated. We need to know about internment camps and what happened to those Japanese people. We need to know about what happened to Jewish people here in the United States of America, and how they weren't even welcomed during the beginning of the Second World War.

And I am grateful that Hollywood is trying to do its part. I'm so grateful for the movies that have been chosen, and that have chosen me. Because I've chosen so many, but they don't always choose me. It's okay. I love being an artist. I can't believe that we get to dress up and do make believe. And the reason I'm an actress today, honest to God, is because growing up in the civil rights movement was so traumatic for us because our home was bombed.

We took ballet, and after ballet, Yoki [Yolanda King] started taking acting lessons. And because we would leave ballet together, my sister and I would go with her to acting lessons, to Mr. Walter Roberts' house. I was too little to participate, but it was so much fun, and I enjoyed it. And, I did not know that the little baby Julia in the house would grow up to be the Julia Roberts, but I remember her brother, Eric. He used to have to take care of me. I just thought he was the cutest thing I'd ever laid eyes on, and he was so nice. He would make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and take care of me on Saturday afternoons.

I just knew that I wanted to become an actress, and then we started making plays. We had a Christmas play and an Easter play that we put on for our parents and Aunt Coretta would film us. We were just two families, but through the process, that's where I found my escape, which would become my career.

When Mother and Aunt Coretta asked us if we wanted to integrate the elementary schools in 1965, I was the first child to raise my hand, and I said, "Oh my God, if I go to Spring Street School, I'll see Eric-not just on Saturdays. I'll see him every day." But he was so much older I had no idea. So when I went to the third grade, he went to high school from the eighth grade. I was just too young. But it was great to be influenced.

And so now years later, I've just done a movie with Eric. I'm in the movie because of Eric.

Mr. Walter Roberts came to every single performance that we had for our parents. He was so supportive of us. He even came to my little ballet recital at Spelman College. You know, I just loved it and it didn't matter that he was a different race. It wasn't about being a different race-we were all the same.

With integration, I'm like, we can all live together in a house, and we can have dinner together, and we can do some fun things together. Why are those people out there with problems? I just didn't understand it.

You were 11 years old when Dr. King was assassinated, and your father was with him. Can you take us back to that day?

So we were not allowed to watch television in our house during the week, only the news, and so the television was not on. And I had this friend in school. Her name was Julie Clements. And we were in the family room. Mother was in the kitchen. And so we had what you consider that open floor plan that people are trying to get in their houses now. We had that then. And I just remember I was sitting there on the floor doing my homework. And Ms. Clements, her mother, a beautiful white woman, called my mother. She said, Juanita, you need to turn on the television. And I was the closest to the TV, and I turned on the TV. And on the TV immediately it said Uncle Martin had been shot. And so my sister started screaming and ran back to our bedroom, because we had our own phone, the children's line. So she got on the phone, and she called Yoki, Uncle Martin's oldest daughter, so they're both crying together and commiserating together.

And then Aunt Coretta calls right after that, and she says, "Juanita, Martin's been shot. Will you go with me to Memphis?" So, Mother's like, "Okay."

And so I'm trying to calm everybody down, because I was telling my sister and Yoki about the Road Runner cartoon. The Road Runner always gets run over and gets shot or whatever, but the Road Runner gets back up, and that God is not about to let Uncle Martin die, because Uncle Martin was good and everything is going to be okay, and everybody just needs to calm down.

So I was focusing on my mother, trying to make sure she was okay. The phone started ringing, and people started coming to the house. And then Dr. Otis Smith came, and his wife, Gwen. He said he would drive us. And I said, "Mother, I'll be there with you. I'm going to go with you to the airport, and then Uncle Otis will bring us back to the house, but we're going to be there with you." And my sister stayed in the house because people were coming.

So [my brother] Ralph and I rode with Mother to keep her calm. We got to the airport, and I just remember we walked through to the airport, to the tarmac, because back then, you know, you had to walk outside to go get on the airplane. And all of these people were outside. And there was Aunt Coretta, and there was Mother, and I just remember Mother and Aunt Coretta embracing. And then when they embraced, I knew he was gone.

And then I just started crying and this reporter turned and put a camera in my face, and I just got so angry. And I was just so devastated, because I didn't understand how God could allow someone so good, so loving, to be killed so brutally.

I remember when Medgar Evers had been killed, and my dad sat us down, and he said, "One day I'm not going to come back in this house, and you need to be prepared. You need to understand what we're trying to do."

And our home had already been bombed--our home in Montgomery. And so they would always call every night at dinner time and threaten to kill us. And Mother would slam that telephone down on the wall, and we'd eat the rest of our dinner in silence, and then run back to our bedroom, get our bath, finish our homework, and be as quiet as we could possibly be. And then we'd knock on the wall to our brother's room to make sure we had a little code, to make sure he was okay.

We always understood and we always knew, but when the reality happens, it's devastating. And it was like the light went out in our lives, and it really never came back.

You know when I speak about Uncle Martin, it's like I get a chance to bring him back to life again. I remember all the crazy things he used to do, and how much fun he was and how good he was. So that's why I talk about him.

I was blessed to know him, and to grow up with him, and been old enough to know him.

On Jan. 10, 1957, Rev. Abernathy's home and church were bombed along with the home of another reverend and three other churches. The Abernathy family survived, and Donzaleigh was born seven months later.

Abernathy says it is of utmost importance that college students today learn that it is up to each generation to fight for their freedoms.

"It could all change in an instant," she said. "And unfortunately, there are a lot of people who want it to change, and we cannot be naive and pretend that they don't exist. We cannot. We have to be strong, and we have to be smart. We've got to rise up and be the best that we can be."

The Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration Luncheon will include musical performances and the award ceremony for this year's Humanitarian, SIUE Student Scholarship, and Local Youth Awards.

Donations may be made to SIUE's MLK Scholarship Fund.

For more information, contact [email protected]or 618-650-3179.

PHOTO: Donzaleigh Abernathy