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1968 - Ralph Abernathy Leads Poor People’s March

On May 2, 1968, Reverend Ralph Abernathy officially launched the Poor People’s Campaign with a march on Washington, D.C., just one month after the assassination of his close friend and fellow civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The campaign was King’s final vision—a multiracial movement aimed at fighting poverty through economic justice and policy change. Abernathy, now leading the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), brought thousands of marchers to the nation’s capital to demand jobs, housing, and a guaranteed income. The campaign would culminate in Resurrection City, a tent encampment on the National Mall, symbolizing the plight of America’s poor.