Andrew Young was raised in a segregated New Orleans, an experience that would shape his later activities during the civil rights movement. After earning his divinity degree from Hartford Seminary, Young accepted an offer to pastor a church in Marion, Alabama, where he encouraged African Americans to register to vote and became acquainted with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. In the most critical years of the movement, Young served as executive director of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and worked in Birmingham, St. Augustine, Selma, and Atlanta directly. Young was the representative for Georgia's 5th District in Congress from 1973 to 1977, after which he became the 14th
U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and then the 55th mayor of Atlanta. Today Young focuses on community improvement through organizations like the Andrew Young Foundation.
