AMERICAN CIVIL RIGHTS PIONEER ANDREW YOUNG TELLS HIS
VIEWS ON A GREAT DEAL OF RECENT HISTORY IN HIS
LONG-AWAITED MEMOIR, ENTITLED, "AN EASY BURDEN: THE
CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT AND THE TRANSFORMATION OF AMERICA."
ANDREW YOUNG, NOW 65 YEARS OLD, IS ONE OF THE BEST-KNOWN
LIVING AFRICAN AMERICANS. BUT MOST AMERICANS KNOW HIM
AS A PUBLIC FIGURE OF THE PAST TWO DECADES - AS UNITED
STATES AMBASSADOR TO THE UNITED NATIONS FROM 1977 TO
1979, MAYOR OF THE CITY OF ATLANTA, GEORGIA, FROM 1982
TO 1988, AND CO-CHAIRMAN OF THE ATLANTA COMMITTEE FOR
THE OLYMPIC GAMES LAST YEAR. MANY PEOPLE FORGET THAT
MR. YOUNG WAS ASSOCIATED FOR MANY YEARS WITH THE LATE
DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR., BEGINNING IN 1961.
THE BOOK'S TITLE, "AN EASY BURDEN," COMES, ANDREW YOUNG
SAYS, FROM THE EXPECTATIONS OF HIS PARENTS - A DENTIST
AND HIS WIFE IN NEW ORLEANS WHOSE LIVES WERE CENTERED
AROUND CHURCH AND SCHOOL:
"IN MY FAMILY, FAITH AND GOOD EDUCATION WERE INTERTWINED
WITH A COMMISSION TO SERVE OTHERS. TO THAT END, I WAS
RAISED ON (A VERSE IN THE HOLY BIBLE) LUKE 12:48 - 'FROM
EVERYONE TO WHOM MUCH HAS BEEN GIVEN, MUCH WILL BE
REQUIRED.' A BURDEN OF RESPONSIBILITY, BUT AN EASY
BURDEN."
AS A BOY IN THE 1940S, ANDREW YOUNG SAYS HE LEARNED MUCH
FROM HIS ETHNICALLY-DIVERSE NEW ORLEANS NEIGHBORS, WHO
INCLUDED WHITE GIRLS WHO WOULDN'T SPEAK TO HIM.
"DADDY TAUGHT ME THAT RACISM WAS A SICKNESS, AND TO HAVE
COMPASSION FOR RACIST WHITES AS I WOULD HAVE COMPASSION
FOR A POLIO VICTIM. RACISM WASN'T A PROBLEM WITH ME, HE
TOLD ME, IT WAS A PROBLEM THEY HAD. DADDY HAD A
GENUINE, TURN-THE-OTHER-CHEEK ATTITUDE, ALTHOUGH HE
DIDN'T BELIEVE IN BECOMING A VICTIM."
ANDREW YOUNG BROKE WITH HIS PARENTS' DREAMS THAT HE
WOULD BE A DENTIST LIKE HIS FATHER. INSTEAD, HE CHOSE
TO ENTER THE MINISTRY. HIS UPSET FATHER REFUSED TO HELP
PAY FOR HIS EDUCATION AT HARTFORD SEMINARY IN
CONNECTICUT:
"I REQUESTED AND RECEIVED A PARTIAL SCHOLARSHIP FROM
HARTFORD. I ALSO TOOK ON THREE PART-TIME JOBS: WASHING
DISHES IN THE SCHOOL CAFETERIA, WORKING IN THE LIBRARY,
AND CLEANING AND TENDING THE FURNACE OF AN APARTMENT
BUILDING."
AFTER GRADUATION, ANDREW YOUNG MARRIED AND FOR SEVERAL
YEARS WAS PASTOR OF SOUTHERN RURAL CHURCHES, THEN A
STAFF MEMBER OF THE NATIONAL COUNCIL OF CHURCHES, BASED
IN NEW YORK CITY. HE DECIDED IN 1961 TO JOIN DR. KING'S
SOUTHERN CHRISTIAN LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE, THE S-C-L-C,
BECAUSE OF HIS FAITH THAT CHRISTIAN LOVE AND GANDHIAN
NONVIOLENCE COULD TRANSFORM OPPRESSORS AND OPPRESSED
ALIKE. MR. YOUNG WAS S-C-L-C EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR FROM
1964 TO 1970.
IN HIS BOOK, ANDREW YOUNG REVEALS SOME OF HIS
COLLEAGUES' STYLES AND SHORTCOMINGS. HE SAYS HOSEA
WILLIAMS, WHO WANTED TO FILL THE JAILS WITH
DEMONSTRATORS, COULD BE A 'BULLY;' JAMES BEVEL, WHO
WANTED FREQUENT HUGE MARCHES, WAS 'ECCENTRIC' BUT ALSO
'GIFTED;' RALPH ABERNATHY WAS DEEPLY JEALOUS OF DR. KING
AND ACTUALLY ASKED HIM FOR HALF OF HIS NOBEL PRIZE
MONEY, WHICH DR. KING GAVE TO THE MOVEMENT. AND DR.
KING WAS DESPERATELY AFRAID OF BEING ALONE IN JAIL. MR.
YOUNG ALSO SAYS THE S-C-L-C WAS A SEXIST ORGANIZATION,
ATTRIBUTING TO MEN THE IDEAS OF HARD-WORKING - AND OFTEN
UNPAID - WOMEN MEMBERS.
THE LACK OF UNITY IN THE MOVEMENT IS ALSO
NOTED. MR. YOUNG SAYS THE LEADERS OF OTHER,
LONG-ESTABLISHED CIVIL RIGHTS ORGANIZATIONS - CHIEFLY
ROY WILKINS OF THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR THE
ADVANCEMENT OF COLORED PEOPLE, AND WHITNEY YOUNG OF THE
URBAN LEAGUE - THOUGHT DR. KING HAD BETRAYED THE
STRATEGIES OF THEIR ORGANIZATIONS BY TAKING THE PROTESTS
INTO THE STREETS AND INVOLVING MASSES OF AMERICANS.
AS FAR AS HIS OWN ROLE IN THE 1960S, ANDREW YOUNG ADMITS
THAT MOST OF THE LEADING SOUTHERN CIVIL RIGHTS LEADERS
OF THE TIME CONSIDERED HIM AN OUTSIDER, AND TOO CALM AND
RATIONAL FOR THE MOVEMENT'S SUCCESS. HE SAYS A VARIETY
OF TALENTS WERE NEEDED.
IN THE LARGEST NATIONAL MARCH, THE 1963 MARCH ON
WASHINGTON, MR. YOUNG POINTS OUT THAT THE KENNEDY
ADMINISTRATION AT FIRST OPPOSED IT, THEN PLAYED A
LEADING ROLE IN MAKING IT INTER-RACIAL:
"CONCERNED THAT AN ALL-BLACK MARCH WOULD HURT THE
CHANCES FOR PASSAGE OF THE CIVIL RIGHTS BILL, THEY
ENCOURAGED WHITE UNION OFFICIALS TO GET BEHIND THE MARCH
ON WASHINGTON AS WELL."
THE BILL WAS FINALLY MADE LAW IN 1964, AFTER PRESIDENT
KENNEDY'S DEATH, FOLLOWED BY THE 1965 VOTING RIGHTS ACT.
BOTH, MR. YOUNG SAYS, ARE LASTING ACHIEVEMENTS OF THE
CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT.
ANDREW YOUNG TAKES HIS BOOK AS FAR AS THE
BEGINNING OF HIS OWN POLITICAL CAREER, FIRST RUNNING FOR
CONGRESS FROM ATLANTA IN 1970 AND LOSING - THEN RUNNING
AGAIN TWO YEARS LATER, AND WINNING.
"WHAT MEANT MORE TO ME WAS THE REALIZATION THAT MY
WINNING IN ATLANTA, AND BARBARA JORDAN'S VICTORY IN
HOUSTON, WERE THE SATISFYING CULMINATION OF A DECADE'S
WORTH OF HARD WORK. THOUGH MARTIN HAD BELIEVED THAT
THOSE OF US WORKING IN THE MOVEMENT SHOULD NOT BE THE
ONES TO RUN FOR OFFICE, I KNEW HE WOULD UNDERSTAND, AND
WOULD HAVE SHARED WITH ME A WONDER AT THE UNPREDICTABLE
COURSE WHICH HAD BROUGHT ME TO THIS POINT. I HAD ALWAYS
BEEN A BEHIND-THE-SCENES PERSON, THE ORGANIZATIONAL MAN.
NOW I KNEW I WOULD BE CALLED ON TO PERFORM A NEW ROLE."
REVIEWERS HAVE PRAISED ANDREW YOUNG'S "NO EASY BURDEN"
FOR BEING 'LEVEL-HEADED' AND DISCIPLINED, AND FACTUAL
RATHER THAN VENGEFUL - AND THEY HAVE CRITICIZED THE
550-PAGE BOOK FOR ITS EXTREME DETAIL. IT HAS BEEN NOTED
THAT MR. YOUNG TOOK HIS TIME IN PUBLISHING HIS HISTORY
OF THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT - PERHAPS WAITING UNTIL
MOST OF HIS FORMER COLLEAGUES IN THE MOVEMENT HAD DIED.
BUT MOST REVIEWERS SAY THE FACT THAT ANDREW YOUNG IS ONE
OF THE LAST SURVIVING LEADERS OF THE MOVEMENT'S EARLY
DAYS MAKES HIS FIRST-HAND ACCOUNT OF THEM A VERY
VALUABLE HISTORY.
24-Feb-97
Source: Voice of America