Donzaleigh Abernathy

Donzaleigh Abernathy is an American actress, author and civil rights activist.[1][2][3]

Donzaleigh Abernathy
Donzaleigh Abernathy speaking at the Virginia Military Institute
BornAugust 5, 1957 (1957-08-05) (age 63)
Montgomery, Alabama, U.S.
Alma materEmerson College
OccupationActress, author, civil rights activist
Years active1990–present
Home townAtlanta, Georgia
Parent(s)Ralph Abernathy
Juanita Abernathy

Early life

Abernathy was born in Montgomery, Alabama and grew up in Atlanta, Georgia during the Civil Rights Movement. The Abernathy children, along with the King children, integrated Spring Street Elementary School and began mass integration in the South. Abernathy briefly attended the Northside High School for the Performing Arts, before attending and graduating from George School, a Quaker Prep School in Bucks County, Pennsylvania.[4]

Her father was Rev. Ralph Abernathy, an influential leader in the civil rights movement, and her mother was the civil rights activist Juanita Abernathy. She was able to join her parents and witness first-hand many significant events of the civil rights movement.[5] Her family was very close to that of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., another prominent figure of the civil rights movement. The Abernathy and King children went to school together, performed extracurricular activities together, spent Sunday dinners together, and spent vacations and various holidays together. According to Abernathy herself, children from both families would hold performances for their parents on these occasions with Yolanda King, one of King's daughters, acting as the director and Dr. King filming the performances. Abernathy has stated that "that's really when [she] started acting."[6] She is married to actor/producer Dar Dixon Bijarchi.[2]

Work

After graduating from Emerson College in Boston, Abernathy moved to New York. She landed her first job after auditioning for a role with the Off Off Broadway production.[6] Since then, Abernathy has played roles in many different movies and television series. In the historical drama Gods and Generals, she portrays a slave named Martha. Although the film itself was not critically well-received, Abernathy was praised for her part. One reviewer states that "Abernathy's image of Martha combines strength with glamour." She starred for four years as a series regular on Lifetime's Any Day Now. As a child of the South, Abernathy was heavily influenced by the civil rights movement. As a result, she was able to connect with the role on a personal level.[7] Donzaleigh Abernathy claims she was filming a scene with Omar Epps in May 2016 for the USA show "Shooter" where his character was supposed to murder her character, when he "completely deviated from the script" and "threw his left forearm with full force at [her] right arm," and broke it. Abernathy is suing Epps, along with Paramount Pictures, for negligence and assault and battery. She's asking for damages for her pain and suffering and wants her medical costs—present and future—covered.[8]

Filmography

Film
Year Title Role Notes
1994 Camp Nowhere Dorothy Welton
1995 Night of the Running Man Francine
1995 Lone Justice 2 Effie Petit
2003 Gods and Generals Martha
2003 Leprechaun: Back 2 tha Hood Esmeralda Video
2006 Grilled Karen
2015 Fingerprints Delphine Frost
2016 Sleight Mary
2016 59 Seconds Katherine
2020 The Industry Did It Aunt Urtha Post-production

Television
Year Title Role Notes
1990 Murder in Mississippi Sue TV film
1990, 1992 L.A. Law Jenny Manley, Naomi Episodes: "Watts a Matter?", "Silence of the Lambskins"
1992 Grass Roots Cora Mae Turner TV film
1993 Sirens Mariah Henry Episode: "Strike Two"
1993 Bodies of Evidence Clarissa Watson Episode: "Endangered Species"
1993 Ned Blessing: The True Story of My Life Effie Pettit Episode: "Return to Plum Creek"
1994 NYPD Blue Mrs. Danton Episode: "Guns 'n Rosaries"
1994 Family Album Lorrie TV miniseries
1995 Amazing Grace D.A. Goodwin Episode: "Family Values"
1995 Cagney & Lacey: Together Again Alcina Lewis TV film
1996 Dangerous Minds Irene Timmons Episodes: "Pilot", "Family Ties", "Need Deep"
1997 Miss Evers' Boys Betty TV film
1997 EZ Streets Patricia Wyler Episodes: "St. Jude Took a Bullet", "One Acquainted with the Night"
1997 The Burning Zone Nora Dawson Episode: "Wild Fire"
1997 Don King: Only in America Henrietta King TV film
1998 The Pretender Susan Healy Episode: "Hazards"
1998 Chicago Hope Porschia Tate Episode: "Absent Without Leave"
1998 The Tempest Mambo Azaleigh TV film
1998–2002 Any Day Now Sara Jackson Main role
1999 The Sky's On Fire Dr. Hellstrom TV film
2002 Whitewash: The Clarence Brandley Story Narrator TV film
2003 24 Barbara Maccabee Episodes: "Day 2: 5:00p.m.-6:00pm", "Day 2: 6:00pm-7:00pm"
2004 Judging Amy Denise Lawrence Episode: "Conditional Surrender"
2005–2006 Commander in Chief Patricia Recurring role (season 1)
2006 House Brady Episode: "Skin Deep"
2008 CSI: Crime Scene Investigation Carolina Bell Episode: "For Gedda"
2008–2009 Lincoln Heights Hazel Glass Episodes: "The Price You Pay", "Lucky"
2012–2013 The Walking Dead Dr. Stevens Episodes: "Walk with Me", "Made to Suffer", "The Suicide King"
2013 Shameless Tawny Episode: "Civil Wrongs"
2015 Father Pete's Corner The Fairy TV series
2016 Suits Gloria Danner Episodes: "Tick Tock", "25th Hour"
2016 Shooter Mrs. Fenn Episodes: "Exfil", "Overwatch"
2017 Chicago P.D. Jeanette Barnes Episode: "Don't Read the News"
2019 Words & Actions Monica Henderson Episode: "Man Delights Not Me, Nor Woman Neither"

Books

The 2001 Smithsonian Institute’s book of essays, In the spirit of Martin: the living legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Donzaleigh Abernathy was one of the contributing authors.[9] In 2003, she authored the book Partners to history: Martin Luther King, Jr., Ralph David Abernathy, and the civil rights movement in honor of her parents.[10]

Bibliography
  • Partners to History: Martin Luther King Jr., Ralph David Abernathy, and the Civil Rights Movement (Crown, 2003) ISBN 978-0-609-60914-9
  • In the spirit of Martin: the living legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (Tinwood Books, 2002) ISBN 978-0965376655
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References
  1. "Donzaleigh Abernathy: A Connection with Martin Luther King Jr". Retrieved January 25, 2010.
  2. "Donzaleigh Abernathy". National Action Network Annual Convention. Archived from the original on February 9, 2017. Retrieved July 5, 2017.
  3. "Donzaleigh Abernathy". Museum of Social Justice | Los Angeles. Archived from the original on August 26, 2017. Retrieved July 5, 2017.
  4. "Georgian Available Online - George School". George School. December 14, 2015. Archived from the original on August 26, 2017. Retrieved July 5, 2017.
  5. "Donzaleigh Abernathy". Literature Resource Center. 2008. Retrieved April 4, 2015.
  6. "Ralph Abernathy's daughter, Donzaleigh, gets role in TV western drama, 'Ned Blessing'". Jet Magazine. 84: 38–39. August 23, 1993.
  7. Pryce, Vinette K. (February 13, 2003). "Civil rights daughter fights civil war for 'Gods and Generals'". New York Amsterdam News. Retrieved April 4, 2015.
  8. http://www.tmz.com/2018/02/15/omar-epps-sued-shooter-actress-assault-battery-injury/
  9. "Catalog: In the spirit of Martin : the living legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr". Ann Arbor District Library. Retrieved July 5, 2017.
  10. "Partners to history : Martin Luther King, Jr., Ralph David Abernathy, and the civil rights movement". Toronto Public Library. Retrieved July 5, 2017.
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