Rev. Abernathy Fears Violence

The Rev. Ralph D. Abernathy, former head of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, who paid an informal visit to Cambridge yesterday, predicted that current unemployment rates could lead to major urban unrest this summer.

"There will be violence next summer if the current unemployment is not lessened," Abernathy said. "The lack of employment is so bad in the cities that the young people will take to the streets," he said.

Abernathy called for strong federal programming to alleviate unemployment. "The Humphrey-Hawkins bill, currently in congressional committee, is the closest thing to full employment," he said.

The bill is a comprehensive plan aimed at full national employment by 1981.

"The young people need jobs with dignity, not jobs pushing brooms," Abernathy said.

Abernathy concluded, "The next big thing for us to do is get the unemployed of the country, black or white, together and demonstrate in Washington, D.C. and other state capitals."