Donzaleigh Abernathy
Los Angeles, CA
writer and actor
Donzaleigh Abernathy is an author and actress. Her first book, “Partners To History, Martin Luther King, Ralph David Abernathy and the Civil Rights Movement” was a nominee for the American Library Association BEST BOOKS of 2004 for Young Adults. She wrote and performed her play, “Women of Niagara” about WEB DuBois and Abolitionist John Brown for the opening of the National Park Service, Harper’s Ferry Niagara Movement Centennial in 2006. At the University of Utah, Park City in 2007, she performed her second “John Brown” play which was attended by the great grandson of John Brown. In 2009, with the Atlanta Gay Men’s Chorus, she wrote and performed at Atlanta’s Symphony Hall the script for the musical “Lush Life,” about the life and music of composer Billy Strayhorn for the National Black Arts Festival. Her 2012 play, “Birmingham Sunday” is a play about the coming of age of five young girls caught in the midst of the 1963 Civil Rights’ struggle in Birmingham, Alabama of Martin Luther King and Ralph David Abernathy, and the interracial love affair developing between their children’s choir director and a northern movement worker/Minister. Abernathy is married and lives in Los Angeles, California.
This bio/description was originally published in 2012 and updated in 2013. For more current information, please refer to the award recipient's website (if provided).