Andrew Young speaks for virtual Martin Luther King tri-college celebration

Former U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Andrew Young addressed a variety of topics during the event which was held virtually due to the coronavirus. (staff photo)

By Rakiyah Lenon | Managing editor

Former U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Andrew Young was the keynote speaker for the Virtual Martin Luther King Tri-College Celebration this year. The event was hosted by Augusta Technical College along with Augusta University and Paine College. 

Born in 1932, Young’s lifetime achievements span decades.  

Young was a pastor and was involved in the Civil Rights Movement along with Martin Luther King Jr. He was executive director of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and helped to organize events for Civil Rights during that time. 

He also became involved in politics. President Jimmy Carter appointed him to serve as the U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. 1977 and later became mayor of Atlanta in 1982, serving two terms.  

Since then, Young has continued to be an active voice in the work for Civil Rights. 

At the virtual event, Young spoke of King’s work in the Montgomery Bus Boycott and ending aspects of racial segregation. 

“To understand Martin Luther King, you kind of have to look back and see where we were and how he brought us to where we are now,” he said. 

Young compared the Civil Rights Movement and recent calls for racial justice. 

“The difference that I see between Dr. King’s Civil Rights Movement and the movement recently of Black Lives Matter, one of the major differences is the cell phone,” he said. 

He also spoke of how the issue of George Floyd’s death shows on a global scale. 

“It was almost as though everybody in America said ‘this is wrong’, ‘I don’t want to be a part of this’…they said that in Europe and in Asia… and so we ended up with a global movement that is continuing in the same spirit as Martin Luther King,” said Young. 

Young stated that he believes there is still work to be done with issues of race. 

“We have a lot that we need to learn from each other. There’s many things that we can only do if we do them together and were better off the more diverse we happen to be,” he said. 

He also reminisced on his work with King. 

“He had given more of his life, more of his brainpower, more suffering, he and his family in 39 years than almost anybody else in a hundred years,” said Young. 

“Martin Luther King fulfilled his purpose, and I hope that you will use his life as an example…” he added. 

The entire event can be watched from Augusta Technical College’s YouTube and Facebook page.