Andrew Young Through the Years

Metro Atlanta

Photos of former Atlanta Mayor Andrew Young, a minister who has also been an ambassaor to the United Nations, a civil rights leader and one of the main forces that turned the city into an international economic hub in the 1980s.

Happy birthday to Andrew Young, who turns 90 in March! Over seven decades, Young has distinguished himself internationally with a wide-ranging career that spans religious leadership, civil rights activism, politics, diplomacy, business, education and broadcasting. Here are just a few snapshots from his life, beginning with this photo-realistic painting by Ross Rossin, on permanent display at the National Portrait Gallery. (Rossin Fine Art)

Andrew Jackson Young Jr. was born in New Orleans in 1932. He attended Howard University and became a pastor in a Thomasville church in 1955. In 1957, the same year that this photo was taken, Young joined the National Council of Churches. He is seen here with his wife Jean and daughters Andrea and Lisa. He and Jean would have two more childre, Paula and Andrew III. (Family photo)

In 1961, Young joined the Atlanta-based Southern Christian Leadership Conference, where he quickly became one of Martin Luther King Jr.'s top lieutenants. Young organized leadership workshops and voter registration drives, becoming the SCLC's executive director in 1964. This photo is from a 1967 press conference. (Bob Dendy / AJC Archive at GSU Library AJCN160-097f)

Young also served SCLC as a key strategist and negotiator during the group's campaigns in Birmingham (1963), St. Augustine, Fla. (1963-4) and Selma, Ala. Here, Young is seen with King and other SCLC aides, including Ralph David Abernathy, James Farmer and James Forman, during a protest march in Selma in 1965. (Library of Congress)

Young was at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis when Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in 1968. Young is seen in the center of this famous photo, among the witnesses pointing out to police where the fatal shot came from. (Joseph Louw / AP file)

Young switched gears in the wake of King's assassination and embarked on a political career. He lost his first race for Congress in 1970, when this photo was taken. But his fortunes would soon change. (Charles Pugh / AJC file)

Young won his 1972 race for the 5th Congressional District (the same seat notably held later by John Lewis). In doing so, Young became the first African-American elected to Congress from Georgia since Reconstruction. He was reelected in 1974 and 1976. Among his accomplishments in Congress was securing federal funds for the construction of MARTA. (Warren K. Leffler / Library of Congress)

Young didn't get a chance to finish his third term in Congress — another Georgian hired him away in 1977. That year, President Jimmy Carter appointed Young as the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations. In that role, Young crafted a policy towards African countries that stressed civil rights and economic development rather than Cold War realpolitik. In 1979, his time at the U.N. ended in diplomatic scandal after he met with a Palestine Liberation Organization representative. He resigned at Carter's request. (Carter would give Young a Presidential Medal of Freedom as one of his final acts in office.) (AJC file)

In 1981, Young succeeded Maynard Jackson as mayor of Atlanta. Young served for two terms throughout the 1980s, positioning the city as an international hub for business. (Kelly Wilkinson / AJC file)

Known internationally for his commitment to economic development, Young was uniquely qualified to turn Atlanta into an international city. He encouraged more foreign direct investment in the city and refurbished existing city assets such as Underground Atlanta, City Hall and Zoo Atlanta. He is seen here delivering his State of the City address to City Council in 1989. (Andy Sharp / AJC file)

Mayor Young was eager to see Atlanta build itself to greater prosperity. He was personally friends with several of the city's biggest developers and championed projects that would recreate the city's downtown. Sometimes he ran afoul of community groups however, such as those who assembled to stop the building of Presidential Parkway. (Nick Arroyo / AJC Archive at GSU Library AJCP158-058aj)

One of Mayor Young's biggest moments was hosting the 1988 Democratic National Convention. The event put the city in the international spotlight, with Young beaming at the center of it. Here, Georgia Democrats announce the location of the convention to the media in 1987. (Louie Favorite / AJC Archive at GSU Library AJCP177-012a)

That announcement would be topped in 1990 when the International Olympic Committee selected Atlanta as the host city for the 1996 Summer Olympics. As co-chair of the Atlanta Olympics committee, Mayor Young led the team that pitched the city to the IOC. He and his wife Jean were bombarded with confetti during this parade soon after the selection. (Eric Williams / AJC file)

His second term coming to a close, Mayor Young ran for governor in 1990. His campaign came up short in the Democratic primary, losing to Zell Miller. Here, Young and Miller participate in a candidate forum with Lauren 'Bubba" McDonald and Lester Maddox. (Frank Niemeir / AJC file)

After his unsuccessful 1990 campaign, Young put his political career behind him and concentrated on educational and nonprofit ventures. He founded the Andrew Young Foundation and co-founded the Southern African Enterprise Development Fund and GoodWorks International. He served the for-profit sector as well, as the head of the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce in 1995, when this photo was taken. (Marlene Karas / AJC file)

Andrew Young's life changed in other ways in the 1990s. Jean Childs Young, his wife of 40 years, died of cancer in 1994. Young remarried in 1996 to Atlanta schoolteacher Carolyn McClain. Their wedding was held in Cape Town, where they were blessed by Archbishop Desmond Tutu. (Guy Tillim / AP file)

The year 1996 was a busy one for Young. In addition to getting remarried, his second memoir "An Easy Burden" was published. (His first, "A Way Out of No Way" was published two years earlier.) And of course, Young's years of work with Atlanta's Olympics committee culminated that summer. His moment to carry the torch didn't happen in Georgia however, but over the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Ala. (Rich Mahan / AJC file)

Young was a visible presence during the Summer Games even when tragedy struck. Two days after the terrorist bombing at Centennial Olympic Park, he joined Mayor Bill Campbell, IOC President Juan Samaranch, Gov. Zell Miller and Billy Payne to reopen the park. (David Cruz / AJC file)

After the Olympics, Young turned more of his attention to economic development through GoodWorks and the Southern African Enterprise Development Fund. He also found time to burnish his legacy and to serve as a living link to Atlanta's civil rights past. In 1997, he joined four other living Atlanta mayors (Bill Campbell, Sam Massell, Ivan Allen Jr. and Maynard Jackson) in the dedication of the "Mayors Grove" at Piedmont Park. (Rich Addicks / AJC file)

Young continued his efforts to increase business and political ties with African countries. He met with South African President Nelson Mandela in 1998 during one of his many trips to the country. (Ruth Fremson / AP file)

In 1999, Georgia State University named its three-year-old Policy School the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies. Young began teaching at the school, which enrolls 2,100 students in disciplines such as ciminal justice, economics, social work and public administration. (Johnny Crawford / AJC file)

Other tributes would follow for Young. In 2001, International Boulevard was renamed for him. In 2008, his friend Charles Loudermilk, founder of Aaron's Rents, unveiled a statue at Walton Spring Park in downtown. In 2012, Delta dedicated a Boeing 767-300ER. (John Spink / jspink@ajc.com)

Andrew Young's birthday celebrations are big affairs. His 69th, 75th, 80th and 85th parties were star-studded gatherings with "Mardi Gras" or "Cabaret" themes. In 2007, Young turned 75 with the help of Jane Fonda (seen here), Maya Angelou, Angela Bassett and Bill Clinton. (Jenni Girtman / AJC file)

In 2018, Young participated in a panel discussion honoring Martin Luther King Jr. on the 50th anniversary of his assassination. Young was joined by former AJC Managing Editor Hank Klibanoff (seen here), Berniece King, Shirley Franklin, David Garrow and Xernona Clayton. AJC editor Kevin Riley moderated the discussion. The event was held at the Atlanta History Center and was sponsored by the AJC. (Steve Schaefer / Special to the AJC)

Young, seen here in 2008, has suffered a few health scares over the years. In 2000, he recovered from prostate cancer. A car wreck involving a cement truck briefly hospitalized him in 2015. And in 2018, Young was hospitalized in Nashville just before he was about to deliver the baccalaureate address at Fisk University. That episode forced Young to clear his schedule. (Pouya Dianat / AJC file)

Young has remained outspoken and involved in Atlanta politics and civic life. During one of many public appearances in 2021, Young helped unveil a statue to John Lewis at the Rodney Cook, Jr. Park in Vine City. Also that year, he endorsed Kasim Reed for mayor in Reed's comback run. When Reed failed to make the run-off election, Young got behind Andre Dickens. Young's advice to Dickens was to rely on every relationship that he's forged. “I think he’s got the connections on a broad basis in Atlanta,” said Young. (Jenn Finch for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

In a 2022 column for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Young said that his advanced age makes him think of all of the things he still wants to accomplish before he dies. He mentioned that Martin Luther King, Jr., talked about his own death often, and once told Young, "We probably won’t make it to 50, but those who do have got to make sure to make it to 100, because there’s a whole lot of work to be done." (Tyson Horne / tyson.horne@ajc.com)

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Happy birthday to Andrew Young, who turns 90 in March! Over seven decades, Young has distinguished himself internationally with a wide-ranging career that spans religious leadership, civil rights activism, politics, diplomacy, business, education and broadcasting. Here are just a few snapshots from his life, beginning with this photo-realistic painting by Ross Rossin, on permanent display at the National Portrait Gallery. (Rossin Fine Art)

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