Andrew Young Biography
Andrew Young has always viewed his career through the lens of his first career – that of ordained minister. His work for civic and human rights, his many years in public office as congressman, United Nations ambassador and mayor, his leadership of the Atlanta Centennial Olympic Games, his advocacy of public purpose capitalism through GoodWorks International, his efforts on behalf of sustainable development, his active participation in the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies at Georgia State University, and the establishment of the Andrew J. Young Foundation, are all a response to his call to serve.Young brings a unique perspective formed by his wealth of experience in national and global leadership to his focus on the challenges of this era. He confronted segregation with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and galvanized a movement that transformed a nation through nonviolence. Young was a key strategist and negotiator during the civil rights campaigns in Birmingham and Selma that resulted in the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
He was elected to the U.S. Congress in 1972, the first African American from the Deep South since Reconstruction, and served on the powerful House Rules Committee, the Committee on Banking and Currency and its Subcommittee on Housing, Transportation, and Finance. While in office, Young sponsored legislation that established a U.S. Institute for Peace, the African Development Bank, and the Chattahoochee River National Park. He negotiated federal funds for MARTA, the Atlanta highway system, and a new international airport for Atlanta.
Young’s support for James Earl “Jimmy” Carter helped Carter win the Democratic Party nomination and election as President of the United States. In 1977 President Carter appointed Young the first African American to serve as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, where he negotiated an end to white-minority rule in Namibia and Zimbabwe and brought Carter’s emphasis on human rights to international diplomacy.
Young became mayor of Atlanta in 1982, during a nationwide recession and a reduction in federal funds for cities. He turned to international markets for investments in Atlanta, attracting 1,100 new businesses and $70 billion in investment, adding 1 million jobs to the region. He developed public-private partnerships to leverage public dollars for projects such as the transformation of Zoo Atlanta.
As co-chair of the Atlanta Olympic Committee, Young tapped into his global relationships to lead the successful effort to bring the Centennial Olympic Games to Atlanta in 1996. He oversaw the largest Olympic Games in history – in the number of countries and athletes represented, and the number of spectators it drew. The International Olympic Committee awarded Young the Olympic Order in Gold, the highest honor awarded by the IOC.
Young is a founding principal and co-chairman of GoodWorks International. Formed out of his belief that free enterprise and private business can improve living standards and reduce poverty in the developing world, GoodWorks advises Fortune 500 companies on responsible business development in Africa and the Caribbean.
Young has received honorary degrees from more than 60 universities and colleges in the United States and abroad. France has awarded him the Legion d’honneur, the nation’s greatest honor. President William J. Clinton appointed him the founding chair of the Southern African Enterprise Development Fund. He serves on the boards of the Martin Luther King Center for Non-Violent Social Change, Barrick Gold Corporation, the United Nations Foundation, the Atlanta Falcons, and the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies at Georgia State University.
“Andrew Young Presents,” the Emmy-nominated nationally syndicated video series produced by Young through the Andrew J. Young Foundation, Inc., has been seen in hundreds of markets in the U.S. and around the world through the Armed Services Network. Young has authored two books, A Way Out of No Way and An Easy Burden, Civil Rights and the Transformation of America.
Young and his wife, educator and civic leader Carolyn McClain Young, live in Atlanta. He is the father of four and the grandfather of six.
Content courtesy of the Andrew J. Young Foundation, Inc., at www.andrewyoung.org.