Andrew Young Biography Quotes 21 Report mistakes

Early Life and Education
Andrew Jackson Young Jr. was born on March 12, 1932, in New Orleans, Louisiana, to Andrew Jackson Young Sr., a dentist, and Daisy Fuller Young, a teacher. Growing up in the segregated South, he learned both the realities of racial discrimination and the value of discipline, education, and public service within a close-knit family. He left New Orleans for Washington, D.C., to attend Howard University, where he earned a bachelor of science degree in 1951. Drawn to ministry and social ethics, he completed a Master of Divinity at Hartford Theological Seminary in 1955 and was ordained in the United Church of Christ. The integration of faith and public life that he absorbed in these years would shape the rest of his career.

Ministry and the Civil Rights Movement
Young began his vocation as a clergyman, serving congregations in the South before taking on responsibilities with national church bodies in New York. He soon redirected his pastoral energy toward the struggle for civil rights, moving to Atlanta in 1961 to join the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). Working closely with Martin Luther King Jr., Ralph Abernathy, Dorothy Cotton, and Septima Clark, he helped design and expand the Citizenship Education Program, which equipped thousands of grassroots leaders with tools for voter registration, nonviolent protest, and community organization.

By the mid-1960s, Young had become a key strategist and negotiator for SCLC. He worked on campaigns in Albany, Birmingham, St. Augustine, and Selma, often mediating between civil rights activists, business leaders, and public officials. His calm, pragmatic style complemented Kings prophetic leadership and Abernathys steadfast organizing. He faced arrests and threats alongside colleagues such as Hosea Williams and John Lewis, yet he consistently sought negotiated solutions that could lock in durable gains. In 1968 he was with the SCLC team in Memphis supporting the sanitation workers strike when King was assassinated; in the aftermath, Young helped steady the organization and carry forward its commitment to nonviolence and voting rights.

Congress and National Politics
Turning to electoral politics, Young ran for Congress from Atlanta and, in 1972, became the first African American elected to the U.S. House of Representatives from Georgia since Reconstruction. Serving three terms, he focused on urban development, education, human rights, and Americas role in supporting decolonization, particularly in Africa. He developed working relationships across the aisle and with community leaders back home, including Atlantas mayor Maynard Jackson, to connect federal policy to local needs.

Ambassador to the United Nations
In 1977 President Jimmy Carter appointed Young U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, a post from which he pressed for a human-rights-centered foreign policy. He advocated majority rule in southern Africa, supported independence efforts in Namibia and Zimbabwe, and challenged apartheid in South Africa. His outreach to emerging states and to nonaligned nations reflected his belief that American leadership should engage a changing world with respect and candor. In 1979, after controversy surrounding an unauthorized meeting with a representative of the Palestine Liberation Organization, he resigned. The episode underscored both his willingness to test diplomatic boundaries and the political constraints of the era.

Mayor of Atlanta and Global Engagement
Elected mayor in 1981, Young served two terms from 1982 to 1990, succeeding Maynard Jackson and working closely with civic and business partners to expand Atlantas economy. He emphasized international trade and investment, strengthened ties with companies and consulates, and promoted infrastructure that would position the city as a global hub. During his tenure, Atlanta deepened its transportation network and cultivated a reputation for pragmatic, inclusive growth. He mentored a rising generation of local leaders, among them Shirley Franklin, and maintained productive relationships with statewide figures such as Governor Zell Miller.

As mayor and afterward, Young became one of the principal champions of Atlantas bid for the 1996 Olympic Games. Collaborating with Billy Payne and a broad coalition of civic leaders, he traveled widely to make the case that Atlanta could host a secure, welcoming, and well-organized Olympics. The successful bid brought transformative investment and global attention to the city.

Writing, Business, and Philanthropy
After leaving City Hall, Young blended public advocacy with private enterprise. He co-founded GoodWorks International, a consulting firm that helped companies pursue responsible investment, especially in Africa and the Caribbean, aligning commercial opportunity with development goals. He established the Andrew J. Young Foundation to support leadership development, public health, and human rights initiatives. As an author and public speaker, he reflected on the civil rights movement and public service, notably in books such as A Way Out of No Way and An Easy Burden, and he hosted media projects that chronicled global and local stories of social change.

Personal Life
In 1954 Young married Jean Childs Young, an educator and advocate whose work in literacy and childrens welfare paralleled her husbands public commitments. As Atlantas First Lady during the 1980s, she advanced arts and education initiatives and remained an influential figure in her own right until her death in 1994. In 1996 he married Carolyn McClain Young. He is a father and grandfather, and his family has often been part of his public life, with children and relatives active in civic and cultural work.

Honors and Legacy
Youngs contributions have been recognized with numerous honors, including the NAACP Spingarn Medal in 1978 and the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1981. Universities and civic institutions across the United States have awarded him honorary degrees and named programs in his honor, including the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies at Georgia State University.

Across decades, Andrew Young has bridged pulpits, picket lines, legislative chambers, city hall, and international diplomacy. Working alongside figures such as Martin Luther King Jr., Coretta Scott King, Ralph Abernathy, John Lewis, Hosea Williams, Jesse Jackson, Maynard Jackson, Jimmy Carter, and Billy Payne, he helped translate moral conviction into policy, and protest into practical progress. His legacy endures in voting rights won, cities rebuilt, global ties strengthened, and a continuing insistence that faith, negotiation, and public service can move a nation toward justice.

Our collection contains 21 quotes who is written by Andrew, under the main topics: Witty One-Liners - Ethics & Morality - Wisdom - Leadership - Parenting.

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