This is still an interesting article to read in 2026.

"Martin Luther King Jr., women, and the possibility of growth"

http://www.chicagoreporter.com/martin-luther-king-jr-women-and-the-possibility-of-growth/

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"As I listened to Ralph Abernathy and his eloquent and generous introduction and then thought about myself, I wondered who he was talking about. It's always good to have your closest friend and associate to say something good about you, and Ralph Abernathy is the best friend that I have in the world. — Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., during his last speech ever delivered I've Been to the Mountaintop"

"And the Walls Came Tumbling Down" - Wikipedia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/And_the_Walls_Came_Tumbling_Down

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"That King was a frequent adulterer throughout much of his married life is relatively well-known. While the clash between the lofty values he espoused and his less-than-faithful behavior may be cause for critique, at the end of the day the marital understanding between King and his wife, Coretta Scott King, remained their business. Some commentators have offered the generous interpretation that his behavior was by no means unique to black ministers, especially those who were on the road as much as 250 days per year. Indeed, University of Pennsylvania professor Jonathan Zimmerman wrote in the Baltimore Sun last year that this was seen by some as an implicit reward of the position and authority it bestowed.

But physical conflict represents a crossing over the line to unacceptable behavior, no matter what the era. 

King’s ally and confidant Abernathy is the source for this disturbing allegation. In his 1989 memoir, And The Walls Came Tumbling Down, Abernathy described a conflict with a woman on the last day of King’s life. King and the woman argued loudly about his dalliances with others before he “knocked her across the bed,”  Abernathy wrote, adding that the two “for a moment were in a full-blown fight, with King clearly winning.”

It’s important to note both that others who were there denied that the incident happened and Abernathy faced extensive criticism from others in the movement who considered his revelation of King’s infidelity, if not the alleged violence, an act of betrayal.  In a representative example, Pulitzer-prize winning columnist William Raspberry compared Abernathy to Judas and concluded his piece by writing that “Abernathy’s tales out of school didn’t diminish King; they diminished Abernathy.”

Still, Abernathy’s account is a source of concern. And taken together, these elements paint a disquieting portrait of this national icon. 

And yet the picture is not quite as bleak as it might appear when one considers the capacity for growth through reflection and experience that King demonstrated throughout his career."

~ Jeff Kelly Lowenstein

"Martin Luther King Jr., women, and the possibility of growth"

http://www.chicagoreporter.com/martin-luther-king-jr-women-and-the-possibility-of-growth/