What civil rights leader and clergyman organized the Poor People's Campaign March on Washington, D.C. after the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr.?

What civil rights leader and clergyman organized the Poor People's Campaign March on Washington, D.C. after the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr.?

• A. Ralph Abernathy
• B. Martin Luther King Jr.
• C. Bayard Rustin
• D. John Lewis

Answer: (A)

Ralph Abernathy organized the Poor People’s Campaign March on Washington after Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated. He was a longtime ally and leader within the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, and when King was taken from the movement, Abernathy stepped in to carry forward King’s plan to address economic justice for poor Americans across racial lines. He led the organizing effort for the 1968 march, coordinating religious, labor, and community groups to bring attention to poverty and economic inequality. Bayard Rustin played a central role in planning the 1963 March on Washington, which is why he’s associated with a different event. John Lewis was a prominent civil rights leader involved in various campaigns, but he did not organize this particular march. King’s assassination left Abernathy as the leading organizer for the 1968 campaign, making Ralph Abernathy the correct answer.

Ralph Abernathy organized the Poor People’s Campaign March on Washington after Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated. He was a longtime ally and leader within the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, and when King was taken from the movement, Abernathy stepped in to carry forward King’s plan to address economic justice for poor Americans across racial lines. He led the organizing effort for the 1968 march, coordinating religious, labor, and community groups to bring attention to poverty and economic inequality. Bayard Rustin played a central role in planning the 1963 March on Washington, which is why he’s associated with a different event. John Lewis was a prominent civil rights leader involved in various campaigns, but he did not organize this particular march. King’s assassination left Abernathy as the leading organizer for the 1968 campaign, making Ralph Abernathy the correct answer.