And the Walls Came Tumbling Downâ is a riveting publication that seems to have garnered more controversy than praise for the late civil rights pioneer. When he wrote the 620-page book in 1989, Abernathyâs hope was to give readers an unprecedented look into the historic Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and â60s that he and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. co-created and co-led.
In the introduction section, Abernathy wrote, âI have decided to write this autobiography after all for two reasons: first, to show how life is lived during the era of Jim Crow and, second, to show what it was like to be at the center of the Civil Rights Movement as it operated on a day-by-day basisâ¦I was privileged to be in command headquarters â in the earlier years as Martin Luther Kingâs closest friend and âpastorâ of the movement, and in later years as its leader.â