Donzaleigh Abernathy (born August 5, 1957) is an American actress, author and civil rights activist.

Early life Abernathy’s mother was pregnant with her when her parents’ home was bombed in the pre-dawn hours of January 10, 1957 after the successful close of the Montgomery Bus Boycott. Abernathy was born in the segregated St. Jude’s Hospital Montgomery, Alabama and lived there through the “Freedom Riders” movement. In 1962, at the request of the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr., her family moved to Atlanta, Georgia where she grew up. There, her father, Ralph David Abernathy, Sr. continued his work co-leading the Civil Rights Movement with King. In 1965, after participating in “The Selma to Montgomery March for the Right To Vote,” the Abernathy children, along with the King children integrated Spring Street Elementary School and began mass integration of public schools 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.

Her father was Rev. Ralph Abernathy, a co-founder and co-leader of the American civil rights movement, and her mother was the lifelong civil rights activist Juanita Jones Abernathy. She, her sister Juandalynn and brother Ralph David III joined their parents on all the major civil rights marches and witnessed first-hand many significant events of the Civil Rights movement. Her family was very close to that of Martin Luther King Jr, a prominent leader of the Civil Rights movement. The Abernathy and King children went to school together, performed extracurricular activities together, spent Saturday and Sunday dinners together, as well as spent vacations and holidays together. According to Ms. Abernathy herself, children from both families would hold performances for their parents and their childhood acting teacher Mr. Walter Roberts, the father of movie stars Julia Roberts and Eric Roberts, on these occasions with Yolanda King, one of King's daughters, acting as the director and Dr. King filming their performances. Abernathy has stated "that's really when [she] started acting." She is married to actor/producer Dar Dixon.

Career 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 and worked for the Production Designer Eugene Lee and Costume Designer Franne Lee of “Saturday Night Live.” She played Lady in Orange in the Alliance Theater’s Southeastern Equity Tour of “For Colored Girls” and Iris in the Alliance Theater’s “Antony and Cleopatra“ with Jane Alexander and Ed Moore. Since then, Ms. Abernathy has played roles in many movies and television movies, such as Mrs. Don King in the Award Winning HBO Drama “Don King, Only in America.” In the historical Civil War drama Gods and Generals, she portrays the slave, Martha. Although the film itself was not critically well-received, Abernathy was praised for her part by film critic Roger Ebert. Another reviewer stated 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. Born in the midst of the Civil Rights Movement after her parents’ home was bombed, Ms. Abernathy’s life has been dedicated to civil and human rights.

Filmography

Film Year Title Role Notes 1990 Ghost Dad ER Nurse1994Camp NowhereDorothy ~ Walter’s Mom1995Night of the Running ManFrancine1995Lone Justice 2Effie Petit2003Gods and GeneralsMartha2003Leprechaun: Back 2 tha HoodEsmeraldaVideo2006GrilledKaren2015FingerprintsDelphine Frost2016SleightMary201659 SecondsKatherine2020Aunt Urtha2025TOWPATHLena Bryant Johnson

Television Year Title Role Notes1990Murder in MississippiSueTV film1990, 1992L.A. LawJenny Manley, NaomiEpisodes: "Watts a Matter?", "Silence of the Lambskins"1992Grass RootsCora Mae TurnerTV film1993SirensMariah HenryEpisode: "Strike Two"1993Bodies of EvidenceClarissa WatsonEpisode: "Endangered Species"1993Ned Blessing: The True Story of My LifeEffie PettitEpisode: "Return to Plum Creek"1994NYPD BlueMrs. DantonEpisode: "Guns 'n Rosaries"1994Family AlbumLorrieTV miniseries1995Amazing GraceD.A. GoodwinEpisode: "Family Values"1995Cagney & Lacey: Together AgainAlcina LewisTV film1996Dangerous MindsIrene TimmonsEpisodes: "Pilot", "Family Ties", "Need Deep"1997Miss Evers' BoysBettyTV film1997EZ StreetsPatricia WylerEpisodes: "St. Jude Took a Bullet", "One Acquainted with the Night"1997Nora DawsonEpisode: "Wild Fire"1997Don King: Only in AmericaHenrietta KingTV film1998Susan HealyEpisode: "Hazards"1998Chicago HopePorschia TateEpisode: "Absent Without Leave"1998Mambo AzaleighTV film1998–2002Any Day NowSara JacksonMain role1999Dr. HellstromTV film2002Whitewash: The Clarence Brandley StoryNarratorTV film200324Barbara MaccabeeEpisodes: "Day 2: 5:00p.m.-6:00pm", "Day 2: 6:00pm-7:00pm"2004Judging AmyDenise LawrenceEpisode: "Conditional Surrender"2005–2006Commander in ChiefPatriciaRecurring role (season 1)2006HouseBradyEpisode: "Skin Deep"2008CSI: Crime Scene InvestigationCarolina BellEpisode: "For Gedda"2008–2009Lincoln HeightsHazel GlassEpisodes: "The Price You Pay", "Lucky"2012–2013Dr. StevensEpisodes: "Walk with Me", "Made to Suffer", "The Suicide King"2013ShamelessTawnyEpisode: "Civil Wrongs"2015Father Pete's CornerThe FairyTV series2016SuitsGloria DannerEpisodes: "Tick Tock", "25th Hour"2016ShooterMrs. FennEpisodes: "Exfil", "Overwatch"2017Chicago P.D.Jeanette BarnesEpisode: "Don't Read the News"2019Words & ActionsMonica HendersonEpisode: "Man Delights Not Me, Nor Woman Neither"2021NCISNSA Deputy Director Ellis Episode: “Rule 91”2022Good SamCarlaEpisode: “A Light in the Storm”2022All RiseNess’ MotherEpisode: “Unwanted Guest”20229-1-1Joanne KingstonEpisode: ”The Devil You Know”

Books The 2001 Smithsonian Institution'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. In 2004, she authored the book Partners To History - Martin Luther King, Ralph David Abernathy and the Civil Rights Movement, in honor of her parents. The book was nominated by the American Library Association as one of the “Best Books for Young Adults,” 2003.

Bibliography Partners to History: Martin Luther King Jr., Ralph David Abernathy, and the Civil Rights Movement (Crown, 2003) In the spirit of Martin: the living legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (Tinwood Books, 2002)

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