Andrew Young, civil rights activist and former confidant to Martin Luther King Jr., will be the keynote speaker for Auburn University's annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Scholarship Breakfast.
The breakfast will take place on Monday morning from 7:30-9:30 a.m. at The Hotel at Auburn University and Dixon Conference Center. Young will focus his talk on “Bridging the Gap: A Quest for Peace and Justice” for this celebration of King’s life and work and his ideas for peace and unity.
Young began his career as a pastor and was an early leader of the Civil Rights Movement, serving as executive director of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.
Young later became active in politics. He was elected to Congress in 1972 to represent Georgia’s 5th district and became the first African American elected from the South since Reconstruction. Young was re-elected for two more terms in 1974 and 1976.
In 1977, Young was appointed to serve as the United States ambassador to the United Nations, as the first African American to do so. He was appointed by President Jimmy Carter and held the position until August 1979.
In 1981 Young was elected mayor of Atlanta, serving two terms. He was instrumental in bringing the Centennial Olympic Games to Atlanta in 1996.
Since his time in
The Andrew J. Young Foundation was founded in 2003. The foundation embodies Young’s philosophy of creative nonviolence and establishes a model and legacy of effective servant leadership for current and future leaders in Atlanta, the U.S. and the world.
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