Editing Ralph Abernathy (section)

===During Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassination===
{{further|Assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.}}
On April 3, 1968, at the [[Mason Temple]], Abernathy introduced King before he made his last public address; King said at the beginning of his now famous "[[I've Been to the Mountaintop]]" speech:
<blockquote>
As I listened to Ralph Abernathy and his eloquent and generous introduction and then thought about myself, I wondered who he was talking about. It's always good to have your closest friend and associate to say something good about you, and Ralph Abernathy is the best friend that I have in the world.<ref name="mountaintop">{{cite web|url=http://mlk-kpp01.stanford.edu/index.php/encyclopedia/documentsentry/ive_been_to_the_mountaintop/|title=I've Been to the Mountaintop|last=King|first=Martin|date=3 April 1968|work=The Martin Luther King Jr. Research and Education Institute|publisher=Stanford University|access-date=19 March 2015|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150411040853/http://mlk-kpp01.stanford.edu/index.php/encyclopedia/documentsentry/ive_been_to_the_mountaintop/|archive-date=April 11, 2015|df=mdy-all}}</ref>
</blockquote>

The following day, April 4, 1968, Abernathy was with King in the room (Room 306) they shared at the [[Lorraine Motel]] in [[Memphis, Tennessee|Memphis]]. At 6:01&nbsp;p.m. while Abernathy was inside the room getting cologne, King was shot while standing outside on the balcony. Once the shot was fired Abernathy ran out to the balcony and cradled King in his arms as he lay unconscious.<ref name="huff"/><ref name="rowman">{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nzlEdUaG_xkC&q=abernathy%20king%20assassination%20arms&pg=PA188 | title=The Human Tradition in the New South | publisher=Rowman & Littlefield Publisher | author=Klotter, James | year=2005 | pages=188 | isbn=1461600960 | url-status=live | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150515112426/https://books.google.com/books?id=nzlEdUaG_xkC&lpg=PA188&ots=61LvgQdeby&dq=abernathy%20king%20assassination%20arms&pg=PA188#v=onepage&q=abernathy%20king%20assassination%20arms&f=false | archive-date=May 15, 2015 | df=mdy-all }}</ref><ref name="espn">{{cite news|url=https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/7628616/cincinnati-bearcats-ralph-david-abernathy-iv-follows-family-footsteps|title=Ralph David Abernathy embraces legacy|last=Adelson|first=Andrea|date=February 29, 2012|publisher=ESPN|access-date=March 19, 2015|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402205122/http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/7628616/cincinnati-bearcats-ralph-david-abernathy-iv-follows-family-footsteps|archive-date=April 2, 2015}}</ref> Abernathy accompanied King to [[St. Joseph's Hospital (Memphis, Tennessee)|St. Joseph's Hospital]] within fifteen minutes of the shooting.<ref name="dorrien">{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rjlFDwAAQBAJ&q=Abernathy+accompanied+King+to+St.+Joseph%2527s+Hospital&pg=PA433 |title=Breaking White Supremacy: Martin Luther King Jr. and the White Social Gospel |last=Dorrien |first=Gary |date=January 10, 2018 |publisher=Yale University Press |isbn=9780300231359 |pages=433 |language=en |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180316231902/https://books.google.com/books?id=rjlFDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA433&lpg=PA433&dq=Abernathy+accompanied+King+to+St.+Joseph%2527s+Hospital&source=bl&ots=_Eh8IjSCdi&sig=-iEs4kpELxmK9zIGllRXRCkSZiA&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjis5qokazZAhURzmMKHXLXDKsQ6AEIOjAC#v=onepage&q=Abernathy%2520accompanied%2520King%2520to%2520St.%2520Joseph's%2520Hospital&f=false |archive-date=March 16, 2018 }}</ref> The doctors performed an emergency surgery, but he never regained consciousness.<ref>{{Cite web |author=<!--Not stated-->|date=November 11, 2008 |title=Society in Civil Rights Movement: "Black Power" Era |url=https://www.shmoop.com/civil-rights-black-power/society.html |language=en |access-date=February 17, 2018 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180217202724/https://www.shmoop.com/civil-rights-black-power/society.html |archive-date=February 17, 2018 }}</ref> King was pronounced dead at 7:05&nbsp;p.m. at age 39.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.archives.gov/research/jfk/select-committee-report/part-2a.html |title=Findings on MLK Assassination |date=August 15, 2016 |website=National Archives |language=en |access-date=February 18, 2018 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171203224058/https://www.archives.gov/research/jfk/select-committee-report/part-2a.html |archive-date=December 3, 2017 }}</ref>