Born March 19, 1959 in Montgomery, Alabama, Ralph David Abernathy III earned a degree in English and Linguistics from Morehouse College in 1981. He is owner of Clean Air Industries, a company that manufactures and installs converters that enable cars and trucks to run on natural gas.

Abernathy began his politcal career by serving four years in the state House of Representatives.

From Atlanta, he was first elected to the state Senate in 1992 to represent Atlanta and a small portion of Cobb County. Abernathy, a Democrat, served vice-chairman of the Senate Retirement Committee and served on the Rules and Appropriations Committees. He was vice-chairman of the Insurance and Labor Committee and chairman of the Interstate Cooperation Committee.

In addition to his standing committee appointments, Abernathy was a member of the Legislative Black Caucus and the Policy Committee of the Senate Democratic Caucus. He is a former chairman of the Sunshine in Litigation Study Committee and also served on the Senate Electrology Study Committee.

Since his election to the Senate, Abernathy has led efforts to change the state flag to the pre-1956 banner and has sponsored the Firearms Protection for Minors Act to protect children by requiring gun owners to keep their weapons out of reach of children.

Sen. Abernathy successfully sponsored landmark legislation in the 1994 General Assembly which requires that the classification of "multiracial" be included on all school, employment and state agency forms requiring racial data in the State of Georgia.

During the 1996 session, Abernathy successfully authored legislation which guarantees grandchild visitation rights for grandparents in situations involving divorce and custody disputes.

Active in community affairs, Senator Abernathy was a member of the board of directors of Consumer Credit Counseling Services and the board of directors of Big Brothers/Big Sisters. He also served on the Aquarium at Underground Advisory Committee.