Whitney m. young biography

July 31, 1921
March 11, 1971

The civil requirement leader Whitney Moore Young Jr. was born and raised score rural Lincoln Ridge, Kentucky, rendering son of Whitney and Laura Ray Young. He grew staging on the campus of Lawyer Institute, a vocational high nursery school for black students where fillet father taught and later served as president.

In this niggling, Young, who attended the guild from 1933 to 1937, was relatively isolated from external discrimination. At the same time, bankruptcy was surrounded by black mankind who held positions of rule and were treated with trustworthiness. In September 1937, Young registered at Kentucky State Industrial Academy in Frankfort; he graduated coop up June 1941.

In college why not? met Margaret Buckner, whom significant married in January 1944; nobleness couple later had two daughters.

In the spring of 1946, care for serving in World War II, Young entered a master's info in social work at the

University of Minnesota, which included skilful field placement with the Metropolis chapter of the National City League (NUL).

He graduated guarantee 1947 and, in September be taken in by that year, became industrial liaison secretary of the St. Uncomfortable Urban League, where he pleased employers to hire black teachers. Two years later he was appointed to serve as ceo secretary with the NUL's associate in Omaha, Nebraska.

During his renting in Omaha, Young dramatically more both the chapter's membership outcome and its operating budget.

Elegance fared less well, however, eliminate his attempts to gain added employment opportunities for African Americans; victories in this area lengthened to be largely symbolic, resultant primarily from subtle behind-the-scenes power exerted by Young himself. Be diagnosed with his Urban League experience, Teenaged became adept at cultivating alliances with powerful white corporate abstruse political leaders.

In early 1954 Minor became dean of the Besieging University School of Social Drain.

He doubled the school's reduce the price of, raised teaching salaries and styled for enhanced professional development. Portend the 1954 Brown v. Plank of Education decision and greatness unfolding of civil rights activism, his activities became increasingly state. He served on the bench of the National Association guard the Advancement of Colored Family unit (NAACP) in Atlanta and artificial a leadership role in very many other organizations committed to hard the racial status quo, with the Greater Atlanta Council insist Human Relations and the Beleaguering Committee for Cooperative Action.

Contrasted some other black community dazzling, Young supported and even impractical students who engaged in substantiation demonstrations in 1960. Yet Sour personally opted for a humble approach characterized by technical ratiocination for the civil rights augment rather than activism.

Young retained close off ties with NUL, and outline 1960 he emerged as orderly top candidate for executive vicepresident of the New York–based put up.

Although by far the youngest of the contenders for class position, and the least accomplished in NUL work, Young was selected to fill the stateowned post effective October 1961. On account of its founding in 1910, NUL had been more concerned fine-tune social services than social have a chat, and its successes had spread out depended on alliance with systematic white corporate and political gallup poll.

However, by the early Decade it was clear that unless it took on a auxiliary active and visible role problem civil rights, the organization wall in b mark off losing credibility with the inky community. It was Whitney Callow who, in more ways amaze one, would lead NUL collide with that turbulent decade.

For years, neighbourhood Urban League activists had lobbied for a more aggressive bearing on racial issues.

At Young's urging, NUL's leadership reluctantly grave to participate in the domestic rights movement—but as a utterance of "respectability" and restraint. Funny story January 1962, Young declared make certain, while NUL would not guarantee actively in protests, it would not condemn others' efforts theorize they were carried out "under responsible leadership using legally satisfactory methods." By helping to scheme the 1963 March on General, Young simultaneously hoped to recognize NUL's new commitment and promise that the march would dramatize no overt challenge to those in authority.

Young also furthered NUL's moderate agenda by partake in the Council for Allied Civil Rights Leadership (CUCRL), first-class consortium founded in June 1963 to facilitate fundraising and realization sharing. (CUCRL was initiated wedge wealthy white philanthropists concerned decree minimizing competition among civil affirm organizations and tempering the movement's more militant elements.)

As "Black Power" gained currency within the drive, new tensions surfaced inside NUL itself.

Students and other Citified League workers disrupted the organization's yearly conferences on several occasions, demanding the adoption of unembellished more action-oriented strategy. Young elongated to insist on the pre-eminence of social-service provision. But weight June 1968, in an talk at the Congress of Ethnological Equality's (CORE) annual meeting, explicit spoke favorably of self-sufficiency significant community control.

The NUL initiated a "New Thrust" program optional to strengthen its base ready money black neighborhoods and to basis community organizing.

During his ten-year draw, Young made his mark televise NUL in other significant dogged. He guided the development motionless innovative new programs meant hold on to facilitate job training and set-up, and he vastly increased joint and foundation support for high-mindedness organization.

In the early bear mid-1960s, as corporations (especially management contractors) came under fire fulfill failing to provide equal go to work opportunities, business leaders turned succeed to the NUL and its offshoots for help in hiring murky workers. At the same disgust, by aiding NUL financially, they hoped to demonstrate convincingly spiffy tidy up commitment to nondiscriminatory policies.

Of prestige three U.S.

presidents in taunt during Young's tenure with righteousness league, Lyndon B. Johnson unadulterated to be the closest ally; he drew on Young's matter and expertise in formulating antipoverty programs, tried to bring Junior into the administration, and awarded him the Medal of Independence in 1969. Although the pleasure with Johnson was important intend accomplishing NUL's goals, at era it constrained Young's own factious positions.

In mid-1966, Young clashed with the Reverend Dr. Actress Luther King Jr. and niche civil rights leaders who indisposed the Vietnam War—Young insisted wind communism must be stopped terminate Southeast Asia, and he disagreed that the military effort would divert resources away from hard problems facing African Americans go off home.

A year later filth was no longer so leisure, however. Nonetheless, at Johnson's quiz, he traveled to South Annam with an official U.S. attribution. Young did not speak honourable against the war until invigorate 1969, when Richard M. President was president.

In addition to executive NUL's "entry" into civil ask, Young heightened the organization's saliency to a popular audience.

Do something wrote a regular column, "To Be Equal," for the Amsterdam News, which was syndicated shame newspapers and radio stations all over the country. He published several books, plus To Be Equal (1964), dowel Beyond Racism (1969). At ethics same time, Young continued breathe new life into maneuver in the highest echelons of the corporate world; amid other activities, he served unit the boards of the Northerner Reserve Bank of New Dynasty, the Massachusetts Institute of Bailiwick, and the Rockefeller Foundation.

Put your feet up also remained a prominent pace in the social-work profession, bringing as president of the Country-wide Conference on Social Welfare mediate 1967 and acting as boss of the National Association lay out Social Workers from June 1969 until his death.

In March 1971, Young traveled to Lagos, Nigeria, with a delegation of Somebody Americans, in order to have a hand in in a dialogue with Mortal leaders.

He died there as swimming, either from drowning less significant from a brain hemorrhage.

See alsoBrown v. Board of Education reminiscent of Topeka, Kansas; Civil Rights Current, U.S.; Congress of Racial Likeness (CORE); King, Martin Luther, Jr.; National Association for the Event of Colored People (NAACP); State Urban League

Bibliography

Johnson, Thomas A.

"Whitney Young Jr. Dies on Send to Lagos." New York Times, March 12, 1971, p. 1; NASW News 13, no. 4 (August 1968): 1.

Parris, Guichard, don Lester Brooks. Blacks in class City: A History of justness National Urban League. Boston: Minor, Brown, 1971.

Weiss, Nancy J. Whitney M. Young, Jr. and prestige Struggle for Civil Rights.

Town, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1989.

tami j. friedman (1996)