1968-1981: From the Halls of Congress to the Heart of the United Nations
Shortly before his death, Dr. King spoke with Harry Belafonte about the need to move toward electoral politics. As George Wallace attempted to revive the racial hostilities of the Old South, it became more important to demonstrate the possibilities of a New South. Andrew Young's election to the U.S. Congress from the predominantly white 5th Congressional District of Georgia in 1972 following Jimmy Carter's election as Governor of Georgia two years earlier helped to keep the movement growing nationally and internationally.
In Congress as a member of the Banking Committee and later the Rules Committee, Young traveled to Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Caribbean with Treasury Secretary, George Schultz, with the African American Institute and the U.S. Japan Parliamentary Exchange. When Jimmy Carter began his race for the Presidency in 1976, Young found himself called on by fellow members of Congress to explain and defend Governor Carter against prejudicial attacks from the Left wing of the Democratic Party and the press as well as give guidance to the campaign on African and Human Rights issues. Young was also instrumental in passing Urban Mass Transit legislation and working with the Department of Transportation and Mayor Maynard Jackson in relocating the new Hartsfield Airport. International banking and travel would later prove helpful to Atlanta's growth and Olympic bid.
As President, Jimmy Carter appointed Young as Ambassador to the United Nations and encouraged him to be forthright in his leadership for human rights and in ending colonial domination and apartheid in southern Africa. This leadership, though successful in firmly establishing the United States as a defender of human rights, proved controversial. Following a meeting with the Committee on Palestinian Rights of the United Nations, Young resigned and returned to Atlanta where a committee to select a successor to Maynard Jackson urged him to run for Mayor.
