Andrew Young | |
|---|---|
 Young in 2025 | |
| 55thMayor of Atlanta | |
| In office January 4, 1982 – January 2, 1990 | |
| Preceded by | Maynard Jackson |
| Succeeded by | Maynard Jackson |
| 14thUnited States Ambassador to the United Nations | |
| In office January 30, 1977 – September 23, 1979 | |
| President | Jimmy Carter |
| Preceded by | William Scranton |
| Succeeded by | Donald McHenry |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromGeorgia's5th district | |
| In office January 3, 1973 – January 29, 1977 | |
| Preceded by | Fletcher Thompson |
| Succeeded by | Wyche Fowler |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Andrew Jackson Young Jr. (1932-03-12)March 12, 1932 (age 93) New Orleans,Louisiana, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouses | |
| Children | 4 |
| Education | Dillard University Howard University (BS) Hartford Seminary (BDiv) |
Andrew Jackson Young Jr. (born March 12, 1932) is an American politician, diplomat, and activist. Beginning his career as a pastor, Young was an early leader in thecivil rights movement, serving as executive director of theSouthern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) and a close confidant toMartin Luther King Jr. A member of theDemocratic Party, Young later became active in politics, serving as a U.S. Congressman fromGeorgia,United States Ambassador to the United Nations in theCarter Administration, and 55thMayor of Atlanta. He was the first African American elected to Congress from Georgia sinceReconstruction, as well as one of the first two African Americans elected to Congress from the former Confederacy since Reconstruction, alongsideBarbara Jordan of Texas.[1] Since leaving office, Young has founded or served in many organizations working on issues of public policy and political lobbying.
Andrew Young was born on March 12, 1932, inNew Orleans, to Daisy Young, a schoolteacher, and Andrew Jackson Young, a dentist. Young's father hired a professional boxer to teach Andrew and his brother to defend themselves. In a 1964 interview with authorRobert Penn Warren for his book,Who Speaks for the Negro?, Young recalls the tensions of segregation in New Orleans, especially growing up in a fairly well-to-do household. He recalls his parents trying to "compensate for segregation" by providing for their children but were reluctant to help less wealthy black communities in the area.[2]
Young attendedDillard University for one year before graduating fromHoward University.[3] He then earned a divinity degree fromHartford Seminary inHartford, Connecticut, in 1955. He is a member ofAlpha Phi Alpha fraternity.[4]
Young was appointed to serve as pastor of a church inMarion, Alabama. It was there in Marion that he metJean Childs, who later became his wife. Young became interested inMahatma Gandhi's concept ofnonviolent resistance as a tactic for social change. He encouraged African Americans to register to vote in Alabama, and sometimes faced death threats while doing so. It was at this time that he became a friend and ally ofMartin Luther King Jr.
In 1955 he accepted a pastorate atBethany Congregational Church inThomasville, Georgia.[5]
In 1957, Young and Jean moved to New York City when he accepted a job with the Youth Division of theNational Council of Churches. While in New York City, Young regularly appeared onLook Up and Live, a weekly Sunday morning television program onCBS, produced by the National Council of Churches in an effort to reach out to secular youth.[6]
Young served as a pastor of theEvergreen Congregational Church inBeachton, Georgia, from 1957 to 1959.[7]
In 1960, he joined theSouthern Christian Leadership Conference.[8] No longer satisfied with his work in New York City, Young moved toAtlanta, Georgia, in 1961 upon the invitation ofBernard Lafayette and worked to register black voters. Young played a key role in the 1963 events in Birmingham, Alabama, serving as a mediator between the white and black communities as they negotiated against a background of protests.
In 1964, Young was named executive director of theSouthern Christian Leadership Conference. As a colleague and friend of Martin Luther King Jr., he was a strategist and negotiator during the Civil Rights Campaigns inBirmingham (1963),St. Augustine (1964),Selma (1965), and Atlanta (1966). He was jailed for his participation in civil rights demonstrations, both inSelma, Alabama, and inSt. Augustine, Florida. The movement gained congressional passage of theCivil Rights Act of 1964 andVoting Rights Act of 1965. Young was with King inMemphis, Tennessee, whenKing was assassinated in 1968.[9]
In 1970, Andrew Young ran as aDemocrat for the 5th District seat in the US House of Representatives, from Georgia, but was unsuccessful. After his defeat, Rev. Fred C. Bennette Jr. introduced him to Murray M. Silver, an Atlanta attorney, who served as his campaign finance chairman. Young ran again in 1972 and won. He later was re-elected in 1974 and in 1976. During his four-plus years in Congress, he was a member of theCongressional Black Caucus, and was involved in several debates regarding foreign relations, including the decision to stop supporting the Portuguese attempts to hold on to their colonies in southern Africa. Young also sat on the powerfulRules Committee and theBanking and Urban Development Committee. Young opposed the Vietnam War,[10] helped enact legislation that established theU.S. Institute for Peace, established theChattahoochee River National Recreation Area and negotiated federal funds forMARTA and the Atlanta Highways.
In 1977, PresidentJimmy Carter appointed Young to serve as theUnited States Ambassador to the United Nations. Young was the first African American to hold the position. Atlanta city councilmanWyche Fowler won the special election to fill Young's seat in Congress.
Although the US and the UN enacted an arms embargo against South Africa, as President Carter's UN ambassador, Young vetoed economic sanctions.[11]
Young caused controversy when, during a July 1978 interview with French newspaperLe Matin de Paris while discussing theSoviet Union and its treatment of political dissidents, he said, "We still have hundreds of people that I would categorize aspolitical prisoners in our prisons", in reference to jailed civil-rights and anti-war protestors. In response, US RepresentativeLarry McDonald (D-GA) sponsored a resolution to impeach Young, but the measure failed 293 to 82. Carter referred to it in a press conference as an "unfortunate statement."[4]
In 1979, Young played a leading role in advancing a settlement inRhodesia withRobert Mugabe andJoshua Nkomo, who had been two of the rebel leaders in theRhodesian Bush War, which had ended in 1979. The settlement paved the way for Mugabe to take power as Prime Minister of the newly formedRepublic of Zimbabwe. There had been ageneral election in 1979, bringing BishopAbel Muzorewa to power as leader of theUnited African National Council leading to the short-lived country ofZimbabwe Rhodesia. Though majority rule had been implemented, many in the international community felt that the reforms were not wide-ranging enough. Young refused to accept the election results and described the election as "neofascist," a sentiment echoed byUnited Nations Security Council Resolution 445 and448. The situation was resolved the next year with theLancaster House Agreement and the establishment ofZimbabwe.[4]
Young's favoring of Mugabe and Nkomo over Muzorewa and his predecessor and ally,Ian Smith, has been controversial. Many African-American activists, includingJesse Jackson andCoretta Scott King, supported the anticolonialism represented by Mugabe and Nkomo.[4] However, it was opposed by others, including civil-rights leaderBayard Rustin, who argued that the 1979 election had been "free and fair",[12] as well as SenatorsHarry F. Byrd Jr. (I-VA) andJesse Helms (R-NC). It was later criticized in 2005 by Gabriel Shumba, executive director of the anti-MugabeZimbabwe Exiles Forum.[13]
In July 1979, Young discovered that an upcoming report by theUnited Nations Division for Palestinian Rights called for the creation of aPalestinian State. Young wanted to delay the report because the Carter Administration was dealing with too many other issues at the time. He met with the UN representatives of several Arab countries to try to convince them the report should be delayed; they agreed in principle but insisted that thePalestine Liberation Organization also had to agree. As a result, on July 20, Young met withZuhdi Labib Terzi, the UN representative of the PLO, at the apartment of the UN Ambassador fromKuwait. On August 10, news of the meeting became public when theMossad leaked its illegally-acquired transcript of the meeting first to Prime MinisterMenachem Begin, and then through his office toNewsweek.[14] The meeting was highly controversial since the United States had already promised Israel that it would not meet directly with the PLO until it recognizedIsrael's right to exist.[4]
During the controversy, Young took a break and was invited byJohn F. Kennedy Jr. to speak aboutapartheid in South Africa atBrown University.[15]
Young's UN ambassadorship ended on August 14.[4][16][17] Carter denied any complicity in what was called the "Andy Young Affair" and asked Young to resign. Asked about the incident byTime soon afterward, Young stated, "It is very difficult to do the things that I think are in the interest of the country and maintain the standards of protocol and diplomacy.... I really don't feel a bit sorry for anything that I have done."[18] Soon afterward, on the television showMeet the Press, he stated that Israel was "stubborn and intransigent."[16]
After his ambassadorship ended, Young became a guest lecturer atMichigan State University inEast Lansing, Michigan.[19]
In 1981, after being urged by a number of people, includingCoretta Scott King, the widow of Martin Luther King Jr., Young ran for mayor ofAtlanta. He was elected later that year with 55% of the vote, succeedingMaynard Jackson. As mayor of Atlanta, he brought in $70 billion of new private investment.[20] He continued and expanded Jackson's programs for including minority and female-owned businesses in all city contracts. The Mayor's Task Force on Education established the Dream Jamboree College Fair that tripled the college scholarships given to Atlanta public school graduates. In 1985, he was involved in renovating the Atlanta Zoo, which was renamedZoo Atlanta.[21] Young was re-elected as mayor in 1985 with more than 80% of the vote. Atlanta hosted the1988 Democratic National Convention during Young's tenure. He was prohibited byterm limits from running for a third term. During his tenure, he talked about how he was "glad to be mayor of this city, where once the mayor had me thrown in jail."[22]
A 1993 survey of historians, political scientists and urban experts conducted by Melvin G. Holli of theUniversity of Illinois at Chicago saw Young ranked as the fifteenth-best American big-city mayor to serve between the years 1820 and 1993.[23] The survey also saw Young ranked the fifth-best big-city mayor to serve in office post-1960.[24]
After leaving the mayor's office in early 1990,[25] Young launched a bid for the Democratic nomination for governor in1990.[26] He ran in a primary that included three former or future governors of Georgia: then lieutenant governorZell Miller, then-state senatorRoy Barnes, and former governorLester Maddox. The field also contained then state representative Lauren "Bubba" McDonald. The first poll put Young at 38 percent to Miller's 30 percent, 15 percent for Maddox and 10 percent for Barnes with McDonald trailing at 7 percent. Young campaigned hard but by the primary, with no central message, his campaign ran into trouble against the well-heeled and prepared lieutenant governor. Miller led the primary with 40 percent to Young's 29 percent and 21 percent for Barnes, Maddox got 7 percent and McDonald rounded out at 3 percent. Future U.S. senatorJohnny Isakson won the Republican nomination.[27] After Miller's stunning and broad-based primary win, Young's campaign floundered. Many think he failed in his effort by trying to garner support amongst rural, conservative white voters, rather than turning out his urban and African-American base. Also, Young never found an issue that roused supporters, unlike Miller, who won voters by championing a state lottery. Miller won the runoff, 2 to 1 and ended Young's gubernatorial aspirations for good.[28]
Young has been a director of theDrum Major Institute for Public Policy, and is also the chairman of the board for the Global Initiative for the Advancement of Nutritional Therapy.[29]
In 1990, Young was a member of the Atlanta Olympic bid committee.[30] He served as co-chair of the1996 Summer Olympic Games.[31]
From 2000 to 2001, Young served as president of the National Council of Churches.[32]
In April 2000, Young appeared on stage with Vice PresidentAl Gore atMorehouse College as the presidential candidate called for programs to better the access of computers and the Internet for minorities.[33] After the election, in which Gore lost toGeorge W. Bush, Young spoke atEbenezer Baptist Church, calling for Bush to not follow the divisiveness of his party and cited Attorney General nomineeJohn Ashcroft as not being qualified "to be attorney general at a time like this."[34]
In 2003, Young founded the Andrew Young Foundation, an organization meant to support and promote education, health, leadership and human rights in the United States, Africa and the Caribbean.[35]
From February to August 2006, Young served as the public spokesman forWorking Families for Walmart, an advocacy group for the retail chainWalmart.[36][dead link] Young resigned from the position soon after a controversial interview with theLos Angeles Sentinel, in which, when asked about Walmart hurtingindependent businesses, he replied, "You see those are the people who have been overcharging us, and they sold out and moved to Florida. I think they've ripped off our communities enough. First it was Jews, then it was Koreans and now it's Arabs."[37]
In 2007, GoodWorks Productions released the documentary filmRwanda Rising,[38] about Rwanda's progress since theRwandan genocide of 1994. Young also served as the film's narrator.Rwanda Rising premiered as the opening night selection at thePan African Film Festival in Los Angeles in 2007.[39]
An edited version ofRwanda Rising served as the pilot episode ofAndrew Young Presents,[40] a series of quarterly, hour-long specials airing on nationally syndicated television.[41]
On January 22, 2008, Young appeared as a guest on the television showThe Colbert Report. HostStephen Colbert invited Young to appear during the writers' strike, because, in 1969, Young and Colbert's father had worked together to mediate a hospital workers' strike.[42] Young made another appearance onThe Colbert Report on November 5, 2008, to talk about the election ofBarack Obama to the presidency.[43]
On January 19, 2015, Young gave the keynote address atVanderbilt University's Martin Luther King Jr. Commemoration Day. The theme was "Dismantling Segregation: Race, Poverty, and Privilege", and Young spoke about his experiences in Selma, stories of traveling with King, and his advice to the next generation of leaders.[44]
On May 13, 2019, Young gave the keynote address atEmory University's spring commencement ceremony.
On May 29, 2020, Young remarked on the protests in Atlanta in reaction to themurder of George Floyd. He stated that riots, violence, and looting "hurt the cause instead of helping it".[45]
Young is co-chairman ofRodney Cook Sr. Park along withNational Monuments Foundation presidentRodney Mims Cook Jr.[46] This peace park is located in the Vine City neighborhood on Atlanta's westside and has a strong civil rights focus.[47]
In 2023, Young launched the "Andrew Young HBCU Scholarship Program"[48] funded byMcGraw Hill Education in partnership with theInstitute of World Politics Chair of Law and Human Rights,Matthew Daniels and theThurgood Marshall College Fund. The scholarship is awarded to students who "demonstrate the vision and leadership potential to be an ambassador for the unifying, non-violent principles of Dr. King and Ambassador Young, rooted in respect for the fundamental dignity, rights, and equality of all human beings."[49] Young also endorsed a companion bible study for those seeking to apply Dr. King's teachings to improving their communities.[50]
Following a reading from theBook of Ephesians, Young delivered thehomily at thestate funeral service for Jimmy Carter atWashington National Cathedral on January 9, 2025.[51][52]
Young has four children with his first wife,Jean Childs Young, who died of liver cancer in 1994.[53] His mother-in-law wasIdella Jones Childs.[54] He married Carolyn McClain in 1996.[55] His daughter Lisa died on March 14, 2025 from cancer.[56]
In September 1999, Young was diagnosed withprostate cancer which was successfully removed with surgery in January 2000.[57]
Young is played byAndre Holland in the 2014 filmSelma.
Young is played byHoward E. Rollins Jr. in the 1978 television miniseriesKing.
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromGeorgia's 5th congressional district 1973–1977 | Succeeded by |
| Diplomatic posts | ||
| Preceded by | United States Ambassador to the United Nations 1977–1979 | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Mayor of Atlanta 1982–1990 | Succeeded by |
| U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial) | ||
| Preceded byas Former U.S. Representative | Order of precedence of the United States as Former U.S. Representative | Succeeded byas Former U.S. Representative |
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