Andrew Young Jr.

Andrew Young Jr.

Political Career part: 4

The End

Political Career

After two terms as mayor, he failed in his attempt to secure the Democratic nomination to run for governor of Georgia. However, Young was successful in his campaign for Atlanta to host the Olympic Games in 1996.

In 1970, Young left the SCLC to make a run for Congress, but was defeated at the polls. Two years later, he ran again, and this time was elected to the House of Representatives. Young was the first African American to represent Georgia in Congress since Reconstruction.

Civil Rights Leader

Early Life

Andrew worked as a pastor. He first became part of the Civil Rights Movement when he organized voter registration drives. Andrew then moved to New York City to work with the National Council of Churches in 1957. Then he returned to Georgia in 1961 to help lead the "citizenship schools" that tutored African Americans in literacy, organizing and leadership skills.

Political Career part: 3

Legacy

Andrew was a product of a middle-class family. His dad was a dentist and his mother was a teacher. After Andrew graduated from Howard University, he choose to study at Connecticut's Hartford Theological Seminary. In 1955, he became an ordained minister.

Civil Rights Leader part: 2

Birth date

While ambassador, he advocated for human rights on a global scale, such as sanctions to oppose rule by apartheid in South Africa. In 1979, Young had to resign his ambassadorship, as he had met in secret with Zehdi Labib Terzi, the Palestinian Liberation Organization's U.N. observer. The resignation did not keep Young from being elected as Atlanta's mayor in 1981.

Andrew was born on March 12, 1932, in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Young wrote about his role in the fight for civil rights in two books: A Way Out of No Way (1994) and An Easy Burden: The Civil Rights Movement and the Transformation of America (1996). He has also written Walk in My Shoes: Conversations Between a Civil Rights Legend and His Godson on the Journey Ahead (2010). He continues to fight for equality and economic justice with a consulting firm, Good Works International, which supports development initiatives, particularly in Africa and the Caribbean.

Southern Christian Leadership Conference was running the citizenship school program, Young became a member of the organization and began working closely with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Young coordinated desegregation efforts throughout the South, including the May 3, 1963 march against segregation during which participants were attacked by police dogs. In 1964, Young became the SCLC's executive director. While in this position, he helped draw up the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. He was with King in Memphis, Tennessee, on April 4, 1968, the day of King's assassination. Following King's death, Young became executive vice president of the SCLC.

Legacy part: 2

Political Career part: 2

As an esteemed civil rights activist, Young has received accolades that include the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People's Springarn Medal. Morehouse College named the Andrew Young Center for Global Leadership in his honor, and Young has taught at Georgia State University's Andrew Young School of Policy Studies.

I have told you everything I know about Andrew Young Jr. Except for his occupations I have told you everything I know. His occupations are diplomat, educator, civil rights activists, mayor, U.S. representative, and pastor.

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In his time as a legislator, he supported programs for the poor, educational initiatives and human rights. During Jimmy Carter's run for the presidency, Young offered key political support; when Carter was in office, he chose Young to be the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.Young left his seat in Congress to take the position.