Andrew Young: Difference between revisions
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{{Infobox US Ambassador |
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| name=Andrew Young |
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| image=Andrew Young, bw head-and-shoulders photo, June 6, 1977.jpg |
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| image_width= |
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| order= |
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| ambassador_from=United States |
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| country= the United Nations |
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| term_start =[[1977]] |
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| term_end = [[1979]] |
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| president= [[Jimmy Carter]] |
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| predecessor = [[William Scranton]] |
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| successor = [[Donald McHenry]] |
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| birth_date ={{birth date and age|1932|03|12}} |
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| birth_place = {{flagicon|Louisiana}} [[New Orleans]], [[Louisiana]] |
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| religion= |
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| spouse= [[Carolyn M. Young]] |
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| party=[[Democratic Party (United States)|Democrat]] |
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| profession= [[Pastor]] and [[Politician]] |
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| religion= [[United Church of Christ]] |
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| footnotes= |
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}} |
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'''Andrew Jackson Young, Jr.''' (born [[March 12]], [[1932]]) is an [[United States|American]] [[civil rights]] activist, former [[United States Congress|U.S. congressman]] and [[mayor]] of [[Atlanta]], [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]], and was the [[United States]]' first [[African-American]] ambassador to the [[United States Ambassadors to the United Nations|United Nations]]. Young is the namesake of the [[Andrew Young School of Policy Studies]] at [[Georgia State University]] in [[Atlanta, Georgia|Atlanta]], [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]]. International Boulevard, near the [[Centennial Olympic Park]], has been re-named Andrew Young International Boulevard, in honor of his efforts to secure the Olympic bid for Atlanta. |
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==Background== |
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===Early life=== |
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Andrew Young's mother, Daisy Fuller Young, was a school teacher, and his father, Andrew Jackson Young, Sr., was a dentist. Young was supposed to become a singer, but the struggle to survive in the South and growing up in an integrated lower-class neighborhood developed a social conscience which led him to the Congregational Christian ministry (now [[United Church of Christ]]) upon graduation from [[Howard University]] in 1951. |
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==Education== |
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After beginning his higher education at [[Dillard University]], Young transferred to [[Howard University]] in [[Washington, D.C.]], in 1947, and received his Bachelor of Science and pre-medical degrees there in 1951. He originally had planned to follow his father's career of dentistry, but then felt a religious calling. He entered the ministry and received a Bachelor of Divinity degree from [[Hartford Seminary]] in [[Hartford, Connecticut]], in 1955. |
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Young is a member of [[Alpha Phi Alpha]], the first inter-collegiate [[Greek alphabet|Greek-letter]] [[Fraternities and sororities|organization]] established for African Americans. |
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==Civil rights== |
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Young was appointed to serve as pastor of a church in [[Marion, Alabama|Marion]], [[Alabama]]. It was there in Marion that he met [[Jean Childs]], who later became his wife. Also while in Marion, Young began to study the writings of [[Mohandas Gandhi]]. Young became interested in Gandhi's concept of non-violent resistance as a tactic for social change. He encouraged [[African-American]]s to register to vote in Alabama, and sometimes faced death threats while doing so. He became a friend and ally of [[Martin Luther King|Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.]], at this time. In 1957, Young moved to [[New York City]] to accept a job with the [[National Council of Churches]]. However, as the [[African-American Civil Rights Movement (1955-1968)|Civil Rights Movement]] gained momentum, Young decided that his place was back in the South. He moved to [[Atlanta, Georgia]], and again worked on drives to register black voters. In 1960 he joined the [[Southern Christian Leadership Conference]]. Young was jailed for his participation in civil rights demonstrations, both in [[Selma, Alabama|Selma]], [[Alabama]], and in [[Saint Augustine, Florida|St. Augustine]], [[Florida]]. Young played a key role in the events in Birmingham, Alabama, serving as a mediator between the white and black communities. In 1964 Young was named executive director of the [[Southern Christian Leadership Conference]] (SCLC), becoming, in that capacity, one of Dr. King's principal lieutenants. He was with King in [[Memphis, Tennessee|Memphis]], [[Tennessee]], when King was [[assassination|assassinated]] in 1968. |
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==Career in Congress== |
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In 1970 Andrew Young ran as a [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democrat]] for [[United States Congress|Congress]] from Georgia, but was unsuccessful. He 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 the [[Congressional Black Caucus]], and he 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. |
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==Diplomatic career== |
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[[Image:STU-I.Young.jpg|thumb|left|Ambassador Young, calling from New York City on an [[STU-I]] secure phone during the [[Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty|Israel-Egypt peace talks]]. (NSA museum)]] |
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In 1977 [[President of the United States|President]] [[Jimmy Carter]] appointed Young [[United States Ambassadors to the United Nations|Ambassador]] to the U.N. His controversial statements made headlines almost from the start. His greatest contribution was helping end segregation in [[Zimbabwe Rhodesia]]. He also improved U.S. relations with Nigeria. He was criticized for many of his statements, such as his suggestion that Cuban troops brought stability to Angola. However, President Carter continued to support his ambassador until 1979 when, contrary to U.S. policy and statute, he met with a representative of the [[Palestine Liberation Organization]]. When the occurrence of that meeting was revealed, Young's public statements were perceived as evasive by Administration critics. Ultimately, Young resigned. |
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During the 1980 presidential race there was some controversy about a statement made by Young, according to the ''New York Times'' edition of Oct. 16, 1980, page B-6: |
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"Speaking to a crowd made up almost entirely of whites, Mr. Reagan said, 'I believe in state's rights. I believe in people doing as much as they can at the private level.' The Republican Presidential nominee added that, if elected, he would re-order priorities and 'restore to states and local governments the power that properly belongs to them." |
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Commenting on the remark at The Ohio State University, Young said, "If he had gone to [[Biloxi, Mississippi|Biloxi]], and talked about state's rights, if he had gone to [[New Orleans, Louisiana|New Orleans]], or [[Birmingham, Alabama|Birmingham]], I would not have gotten upset. But when you go to [[Philadelphia, Mississippi|Philadelphia]], [[Mississippi]], where James Chaney, Andy Goodman, and Michael Schwerner were killed--murdered--by the sheriff and the deputy sheriff and a government posse protecting state's rights, and you go down there and start talking about state's rights, that looks like a code word to me that it's going to be all right to kill niggers when he's President." |
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These remarks were denounced by the Reagan campaign and repudiated by the Carter campaign. |
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==Atlanta mayor== |
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In 1981, Young was elected [[mayor]] of [[Atlanta]], succeeding [[Maynard Jackson]]. He was re-elected in 1985. As mayor, Young brought the city to national prominence by encouraging international investment which, in turn, improved the Atlanta economy after it was hit hard by [[recession]]. He was instrumental in bringing the [[1988 Democratic National Convention]] to Atlanta. |
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==Private citizen== |
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Young ran unsuccessfully for [[Governor of Georgia]] in 1990, losing in the [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] primary run-off to future Governor [[Zell Miller]]. However, while running for the Statehouse, he simultaneously was serving as a co-chairman of a committee which, at the time, was attempting to bring the [[1996 Summer Olympics]] to Atlanta. Though his successor, [[Maynard Jackson]], was able to enjoy the spotlight when the announcement came that Atlanta had won the right to host the [[1996 Summer Olympics|Summer Games]], Young almost certainly was more instrumental in the success of the Atlanta bid. Also in 1996 he wrote his auto-biography. |
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Today, Young is co-chairman of [[Good Works International]], a consulting firm "offering international market access and political risk analysis in key emerging markets within Africa and the Caribbean." The company's Web site also notes that "GWI principals have backgrounds in human rights and public service. The concept of enhancing the greater good is intrinsic to our business endeavors." Nike is one of Good Works' most visible corporate clients. In the late 1990s, at the height of controversy over the company's labor practices, Young led a delegation to report on [[Nike, Inc.|Nike]] operations in [[Vietnam]]. Anti-sweatshop activists derided the report as a whitewash and raised concerns that Nike was trading on Young's background as a civil-rights activist to improve Nike's corporate image. Young also is a director of the [[Drum Major Institute]], and also is the chairman of the board for the [Global Initiative for the Advancement of Nutritional Therapy]* [http://www.giantglobal.org]. |
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In 2004 Young briefly considered running for [[United States Senate|U.S. Senate]] after the incumbent, [[Zell Miller]], announced his retirement, but decided not to re-enter public life. |
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In February, 2006 Young accepted a position as chairman of [[Working Families for Wal-Mart]], a faux grass-roots public relations campaign sponsored by the corporate giant as a public response to widespread criticism that many of the company's American employees and their children are on [[welfare (financial aid)|public assistance]], that the company uses [[child labor]], that the company [[discrimination|discriminates]] against female and African-American employees, and that workers manufacturing [[Wal-Mart]] products are subjected to abusive conditions and sub-[[poverty]] wages. |
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In an interview in 2006 a ''[[Los Angeles Sentinel]]'' correspondent asked Young whether he worried that Wal-Mart causes smaller, [[Mom and pop store|mom-and-pop stores]] to close. He replied with comments that were criticized as racist:{{cquote|Well, I think they should; they ran the 'mom and pop' stores out of my neighborhood, ... But you see, those are the people who have been overcharging us selling us stale bread and bad meat and wilted vegetables. And they sold out and moved to Florida. I think they've ripped off our communities enough. First it was [[American Jews|Jews]], then it was [[Korean American|Koreans]], and now it's [[Arab American|Arabs]]; very few black people own these stores.}} |
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Following the wide-spread publication of these comments, Young announced on [[August 17]], [[2006]], that he had ended his involvement with Working Families for Wal-Mart.<ref name="latimes-08182006>{{cite news | url= http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/front/la-fi-young18aug18,1,1856004.story?coll=la-headlines-frontpage | title=Young to Quit Wal-Mart Group After Racial Remarks | publisher=[[Los Angeles Times]] | date=August 18, 2006 | last=Goldman | first=Abigail}}</ref> |
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The ''Benton County Daily Record'' of August 26, 2006, reports: |
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{{cquote|"I was giving a rational explanation of a historic phenomenon," Young said later. He added that he also had discussed black merchants who over-charged the poor. |
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"The way this came out it makes me sound like I’m refuting everything I’ve done over almost 70 years, frankly," Young said.<ref name="nwanews-0862006>{{cite news| url=http://nwanews.com/bcdr/News/38941/ | title=Good will for Young May Ease Wal-Mart Split| publisher=Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Inc. |date=August 26, 2006 | last=Dewan |first=Shaila}}</ref>}} |
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In an interview in 2007, Young commented that Barack Obama was too young to be president, saying: "I want Barack Obama to be president," Young said, pausing for effect, "in 2016." Also adding about Bill Clinton, "Bill is every bit as black as Barack. He’s probably gone with more black women than Barack." Young quickly followed that comment with the disclaimer, "I’m clowning."<ref name=the-swamp-122007>{{cite news| url=http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/news/politics/blog/2007/12/andrew_young_says_obama_too_yo.html | title=Andrew Young: Obama too young for White House| publisher=Baltimore Sun. | date=December, 9, 2007| last=Dorning | first=Mike}}</ref> |
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==References== |
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<p>Andrew Young, ''An Easy Burden: The Civil Rights Movement and the Transformation of America'' New York: HarperCollins, 1996.</p> |
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<p>Bartlett Jones, ''Flawed Triumphs: Andy Young at the United Nations'' Lanham: University Press of America, 1996.</p> |
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<p>Andrew DeRoche, ''Andrew Young: Civil Rights Ambassador'' Wilmington: Scholarly Resources, 2003.</p> |
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<div class="references-small"> |
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<references/> |
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</div> |
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==External links== |
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*[http://www.medaloffreedom.com/AndrewYoung.htm Young's Presidential Medal of Freedom] |
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*[http://www.lbjlib.utexas.edu/johnson/archives.hom/oralhistory.hom/YoungA/YoungA.asp Transcript, Andrew J. Young, Jr., Oral History Interview I], 6/18/70, by Thomas H. Baker, Internet Copy, LBJ Library. Accessed April 3, 2005. |
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*[http://docsouth.unc.edu/sohp/A-080/menu.html Oral history interview] by Jack Bass and Walter DeVries, January 1974 (Southern Oral History Program, [[University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill|UNC-Chapel Hill]]) |
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* [http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/nge/Article.jsp?id=h-1395&sug=y Biography] (entry in the New Georgia Encyclopedia) |
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*[http://www.giantglobal.org Andrew Young Global Health Institute, a project of the Global Initiative for the Advancement of Nutritional Therapy] |
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*[http://aysps.gsu.edu/ Andrew Young School of Policy Studies] |
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*[http://www.visionaryproject.org/NVLPmemberTier/visionariesT1/VisionaryPages/YoungAndy/index.asp Andrew Young biography and video interview excerpts by The National Visionary Leadership Project] |
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*[http://www.goodworksintl.com/gwiconsulting/abo_over.html Good Works International, founder] |
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*[http://www.newsmeat.com/washington_political_donations/Andrew_Young.php Andrew Young's federal campaign contribution report] |
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*{{CongBio|Y000028}} |
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{{start box}} |
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{{s-par|us-hs}} |
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{{USRepSuccessionBox |
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| state = Georgia |
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| district = 5 |
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| before= [[Fletcher Thompson]] |
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| after= [[Wyche Fowler]] |
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| years=1973 – 1977 |
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}} |
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{{s-dip}} |
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{{succession box|title=[[United States Ambassadors to the United Nations|U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations]] |
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|before=[[William Scranton]]|after=[[Donald McHenry]]| years=1977 – 1979}} |
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{{s-off}} |
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{{succession box|title=[[Mayor of Atlanta]] |
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|before=[[Maynard Jackson]]|after=[[Maynard Jackson]]| years=1982 – 1990}} |
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{{end box}} |
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{{USUNambassadors}} |
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{{ATLmayors}} |
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Young, Andrew}} |
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[[Category:Members of the United States House of Representatives from Georgia]] |
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[[Category:United States ambassadors to the United Nations]] |
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[[Category:Congressional opponents of the Vietnam War]] |
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[[Category:Mayors of Atlanta]] |
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[[Category:African American politicians]] |
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[[Category:African Americans' rights activists]] |
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[[Category:Presidential Medal of Freedom recipients]] |
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[[Category:People from Atlanta]] |
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[[Category:People from New Orleans]] |
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[[Category:1932 births]] |
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[[Category:Living people]] |
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[[Category:Howard University alumni]] |
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[[Category:African Americans in the United States Congress]] |
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[[Category:American Congregationalists]] |
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[[Category:African American religious leaders]] |
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