Andrew Jackson Young, Jr.

Congressman Andrew Young represented Georgia’s 5th Congressional District from 1973 to 1977 (93rd-95th Congresses). Young was the first Black representative from Georgia since Jefferson Long’s election a century earlier. A pastor and civil rights activist, Young was an early leader in the civil rights movement; he served as executive director of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) and was a close confidant of Martin Luther King, Jr. During his tenure in Congress, Young took an interest in foreign relations, including the decision to stop supporting the Portuguese attempts to hold on to their colonies in southern Africa. He also served on the Rules Committee and the Banking and Urban Development Committee. Opposed the Vietnam War, Young helped enact legislation establishing the U.S. Institute for Peace. Young later served as United States Ambassador to the United Nations in the Carter Administration. He went on to be the Mayor of Atlanta and author several books. He graduated from Howard University, and earned a divinity degree from Hartford Seminary.