Donzaleigh Abernathy

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Donzaleigh Abernathy is an American actress, author, and civil rights activist. She was born on August 5, 1957, in Montgomery, Alabama, during the era of the Montgomery Bus Boycott. Her parents, Ralph Abernathy and Juanita Abernathy, were leaders in the Civil Rights Movement. When she was five, the family moved to Atlanta at the request of Martin Luther King Jr. She grew up close to the King family and joined her parents on major civil rights marches, which helped shape her life and career.

Abernathy studied at George School in Pennsylvania and later attended Emerson College in Boston. After college, she moved to New York City, worked in Off Off Broadway productions, and appeared in stage shows such as For Colored Girls and Antony and Cleopatra. She went on to act in film and television, earning praise for roles like Martha in Gods and Generals and a part in Don King: Only in America. She was also a four-year series regular on the Lifetime drama Any Day Now.

In addition to acting, Abernathy has written about civil rights. She contributed to the Smithsonian Institution’s In the Spirit of Martin: The Living Legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (2002) and wrote Partners to History: Martin Luther King, Jr., Ralph David Abernathy, and the Civil Rights Movement (2003). The latter book was named one of the Best Books for Young Adults by the American Library Association.

Abernathy is married to actor and producer Dar Dixon. She continues to act and write, and to speak about civil rights issues.

Selected works
- Films: Ghost Dad (1990) as an ER nurse; Camp Nowhere (1994); Gods and Generals (2003) as Martha; Leprechaun: Back 2 tha Hood (2003) as Esmeralda; Any Day Now (1998–2002) as Sara Jackson.
- Television: appearances in Murder in Mississippi, L.A. Law, 24, The Walking Dead, NCIS, 9-1-1, Chicago P.D., Suits, and Shooter.