Ralph Abernathy on Martin Luther King Jr.
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“Martin Luther King Jr. held to the fact that an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth would end up with a blind society and a toothless generation.”
Ralph Abernathy's autobiography offers a candid and admiring, yet subtly complex, portrayal of Martin Luther King Jr.'s charisma and personal appeal, particularly his interactions with women.
“He was always gracious and courteous to women, whether they were attractive to him or not. He had perfect manners. He was well educated. He was warm and friendly. He could make them laugh. He was good company, something that cannot always be said of heroes. These qualities made him even more attractive in close proximity than he was at a distance. Then, too, Martin's own love of women was apparent in ways that could not be easily pinpointed — but which women clearly sensed, even from afar.”