The African American leadership community in Atlanta has long played a transformative role in the social and political tapestry of American life. Nowhere is their display of courage and sacrifice more evident than during the Civil Rights Movement, when this group of fearless men and women stood at the frontline in challenging the explicit racial injustices that permeated the country. With the help of individuals like Maynard Jackson, Andrew Young and Marvin Arrington, their actions altered the perilous course for millions of African Americans, beckoning an age of equal citizenship and opportunity.
Our subjects for this spotlight are Brooke Jackson Edmonds, Andrea Young and Marvin Arrington Jr. These three represent the second generation of these American pioneers and have added to their family’s legacies by establishing equally impressive leadership credentials of their own. Over the next four weeks Black Voices will introduce you to each of them and find out their thoughts about key issues that impact the African American community. First up in our spotlight is Ms. Andrea Young.
As the daughter of former Atlanta Mayor, US Ambassador and Congressman Andrew Young, Andrea grew up at the forefront of the Civil Rights Movement and is today the executive director of the Andrew Young Foundation. In addition to working closely with her dad, with whom she assisted in writing his Civil Rights memoir, "An Easy Burden: Civil Rights and the Transformation of America," Andrea is a lawyer who has devoted her professional life to promoting policies that defend and extend civil and human rights. She has worked in numerous areas of the political arena, including serving as a legislative assistant to Senator Edward Kennedy and as the chief of staff for the first woman to represent Georgia in Congress, Cynthia McKinney. Clearly sustaining the legacy started by her father, Andrea is among other things, a Scholar in Residence at the Leadership Center at Morehouse College where she developed a class on leadership and a series of public leadership forums.