I think when people realized this the most it was during the revolutionary War here in the U.S. Starting around 1776 or thereabouts.
The saying; "Give me Liberty or give me Death!" was as true then as now worldwide.
The main thing causing Mass deaths around the world mostly is Global Climate changes which are only going to get worse and worse for at least 300 years (even if all burning of anything stopped right now which it isn't).
It's very paradoxical that Musk created Tesla as a really good Electric Car only to be undone by Musk Becoming Nazi and destroying the Government we built since 1776!
We really are in crazy times!
But, Global Warming is relentless and unless people have enough technology of the right kinds they ALL are going to die now.
Unless you can grow food underground now with Solar powered Grow lights and Solar powered water pumps to water everything you likely won't survive this century.
Also, expecting rain to come out of the sky regularly instead of just flooding everything completely away or droughting completely in new places every year is sort of stupid at this point too.
Trump isn't the main problem the world is facing right now.
IT'S STARVATION AND DROUGHTS AND FLOODS AND HURRICANES AND TORNADOES AND FIRES AND EARTHQUAKES AND TSUNAMIS FROM EARTHQUAKES!
To not realize this like Musk and Trump is to die from Global Warming just like most people are headed towards right now worldwide.
This concept is one of the reasons why there has been so little blood letting in the U.S. compared to most nations. Because we learned this early as a nation to be a democracy which allows people to "have a war" with words constantly without killing each other so much like happens and historically has happened all over the world for thousands and thousands of years.
So, in this sense America has been a Shining example to the world of how to actually take all human needs and to address the most important ones ongoing since 1776 or 1620 whichever date you prefer.
I was listening to Andrew Young speak whose history goes back to working with Martin Luther King while he was still alive.
The main point he made is exactly what I'm saying here too which is: "If you get too angry you have already lost.
I have noticed this in my life that literally everything GOOD and of God has come to me in my life by learning how to use my anger constructively.
In other words: "DON'T BE A VICTIM! BE EMPOWERED INSTEAD!"
This is really important in life if you strike out to hurt others physically you have already lost everything in life. Because as soon as you physically harm another (no matter what the reason) you will have to live with that the rest of your life and most people can't and eventually self destruct from harming others in the short run or long run.
So, learning to control your anger and to write what you believe rather than harming anyone is the answer just like with Martin Luther King and with Andrew Young. Here is more on Andrew Young's amazing life both with Martin Luther King and after he was assassinated.
Andrew Jackson Young Jr. (born March 12, 1932) is an American
politician, diplomat, and activist. Beginning his career as a pastor,
Young was an early leader in the civil rights movement, serving as executive director of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) and a close confidant to Martin Luther King Jr. Young later became active in politics, serving as a U.S. Congressman from Georgia, United States Ambassador to the United Nations in the Carter Administration, and 55th Mayor of Atlanta. He was the first African American elected to Congress from Georgia since Reconstruction,
as well as one of the first two African Americans elected to Congress
from the former Confederacy since Reconstruction, alongside Barbara Jordan of Texas.[1]
Since leaving office, Young has founded or served in many organizations
working on issues of public policy and political lobbying.
Early life
Andrew Young was born on March 12, 1932, in New Orleans,
to Daisy Young, a schoolteacher, and Andrew Jackson Young, a dentist.
Young's father hired a professional boxer to teach Andrew and his
brother to defend themselves. In a 1964 interview with author Robert Penn Warren for his book, Who Speaks for the Negro?,
Young recalls the tensions of segregation in New Orleans, especially
growing up in a fairly well-to-do household. He recalls his parents
trying to "compensate for segregation" by providing for their children
but were reluctant to help less wealthy black communities in the area.[2]
Young was appointed to serve as pastor of a church in Marion, Alabama. It was there in Marion that he met Jean Childs, who later became his wife. Young became interested in Mahatma Gandhi's concept of nonviolent
resistance as a tactic for social change. He encouraged African
Americans to register to vote in Alabama, and sometimes faced death
threats while doing so. It was at this time that he became a friend and
ally of Martin Luther King Jr.
In 1957, Young and Jean moved to New York City when he accepted a job with the Youth Division of the National Council of Churches. While in New York City, Young regularly appeared on Look Up and Live, a weekly Sunday morning television program on CBS, produced by the National Council of Churches in an effort to reach out to secular youth.[6]
In 1960, he joined the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.[8] No longer satisfied with his work in New York City, Young moved to Atlanta, Georgia, in 1961 upon the invitation of Bernard Lafayette
and worked to register black voters. Young played a key role in the
1963 events in Birmingham, Alabama, serving as a mediator between the
white and black communities as they negotiated against a background of
protests.
In 1970, Andrew Young ran as a Democrat
for the 5th District seat in the US House of Representatives, from
Georgia, but was unsuccessful. After his defeat, Rev. Fred C. Bennette
Jr. introduced him to Murray M. Silver, an Atlanta attorney, who served
as his campaign finance chairman. Young ran again in 1972 and won. He
later was re-elected in 1974 and in 1976. During his four-plus years in
Congress, he was a member of the Congressional Black Caucus,
and was involved in several debates regarding foreign relations,
including the decision to stop supporting the Portuguese attempts to
hold on to their colonies in southern Africa. Young also sat on the
powerful Rules Committee and the Banking and Urban Development Committee. Young opposed the Vietnam War,[10] helped enact legislation that established the U.S. Institute for Peace, established the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area and negotiated federal funds for MARTA and the Atlanta Highways.
American Ambassador to the United Nations
Ambassador Young, calling from New York City on an STU-I secure phone during the Egypt–Israel peace talks. (NSA museum)
Although the US and the UN enacted an arms embargo against South
Africa, as President Carter's UN ambassador, Young vetoed economic
sanctions.[11]
Young caused controversy when, during a July 1978 interview with French newspaper Le Matin de Paris while discussing the Soviet Union and its treatment of political dissidents, he said, "We still have hundreds of people that I would categorize as political prisoners in our prisons", in reference to jailed civil-rights and anti-war protestors. In response, US Representative Larry McDonald
(D-GA) sponsored a resolution to impeach Young, but the measure failed
293 to 82. Carter referred to it in a press conference as an
"unfortunate statement."[4]
Young's favoring of Mugabe and Nkomo over Muzorewa and his predecessor and ally, Ian Smith, has been controversial. Many African-American activists, including Jesse Jackson and Coretta Scott King, supported the anticolonialism represented by Mugabe and Nkomo.[4] However, it was opposed by others, including civil-rights leader Bayard Rustin, who argued that the 1979 election had been "free and fair",[12] as well as Senators Harry F. Byrd Jr. (I-VA) and Jesse Helms (R-NC). It was later criticized in 2005 by Gabriel Shumba, executive director of the anti-Mugabe Zimbabwe Exiles Forum.[13]
In July 1979, Young discovered that an upcoming report by the United Nations Division for Palestinian Rights called for the creation of a Palestinian State.
Young wanted to delay the report because the Carter Administration was
dealing with too many other issues at the time. He met with the UN
representatives of several Arab countries to try to convince them the
report should be delayed; they agreed in principle but insisted that the
Palestine Liberation Organization also had to agree. As a result, on July 20, Young met with Zuhdi Labib Terzi, the UN representative of the PLO, at the apartment of the UN Ambassador from Kuwait. On August 10, news of the meeting became public when the Mossad leaked its illegally-acquired transcript of the meeting first to Prime Minister Menachem Begin, and then through his office to Newsweek.[14]
The meeting was highly controversial since the United States had
already promised Israel that it would not meet directly with the PLO
until it recognized Israel's right to exist.[4]
Young's UN ambassadorship ended on August 14.[4][16][17] Carter denied any complicity in what was called the "Andy Young Affair" and asked Young to resign. Asked about the incident by Time
soon afterward, Young stated, "It is very difficult to do the things
that I think are in the interest of the country and maintain the
standards of protocol and diplomacy.... I really don't feel a bit sorry
for anything that I have done."[18] Soon afterward, on the television show Meet the Press, he stated that Israel was "stubborn and intransigent."[16]
In 1981, after being urged by a number of people, including Coretta Scott King, the widow of Martin Luther King Jr., Young ran for mayor of Atlanta. He was elected later that year with 55% of the vote, succeeding Maynard Jackson. As mayor of Atlanta, he brought in $70 billion of new private investment.[20]
He continued and expanded Jackson's programs for including minority and
female-owned businesses in all city contracts. The Mayor's Task Force
on Education established the Dream Jamboree College Fair that tripled
the college scholarships given to Atlanta public school graduates. In
1985, he was involved in renovating the Atlanta Zoo, which was renamed Zoo Atlanta.[21] Young was re-elected as mayor in 1985 with more than 80% of the vote. Atlanta hosted the 1988 Democratic National Convention during Young's tenure. He was prohibited by term limits
from running for a third term. During his tenure, he talked about how
he was "glad to be mayor of this city, where once the mayor had me
thrown in jail."[22]
A 1993 survey of historians, political scientists and urban experts conducted by Melvin G. Holli of the University of Illinois at Chicago saw Young ranked as the fifteenth-best American big-city mayor to serve between the years 1820 and 1993.[23] The survey also saw Young ranked the fifth-best big-city mayor to serve in office post-1960.[24]
1990 Georgia gubernatorial election
After leaving the mayor's office in early 1990,[25] Young launched a bid for the Democratic nomination for governor in 1990.[26] He ran in a primary that included three former or future governors of Georgia: then lieutenant governor Zell Miller, then-state senator Roy Barnes, and former governor Lester Maddox.
The field also contained then state representative Lauren "Bubba"
McDonald. The first poll put Young at 38 percent to Miller's 30 percent,
15 percent for Maddox and 10 percent for Barnes with McDonald trailing
at 7 percent. Young campaigned hard but by the primary, with no central
message, his campaign ran into trouble against the well-heeled and
prepared lieutenant governor. Miller led the primary with 40 percent to
Young's 29 percent and 21 percent for Barnes, Maddox got 7 percent and
McDonald rounded out at 3 percent. Future U.S. senator Johnny Isakson won the Republican nomination.[27]
After Miller's stunning and broad-based primary win, Young's campaign
floundered. Many think he failed in his effort by trying to garner
support amongst rural, conservative white voters, rather than turning
out his urban and African-American base. Also, Young never found an
issue that roused supporters, unlike Miller, who won voters by
championing a state lottery. Miller won the runoff, 2 to 1 and ended
Young's gubernatorial aspirations for good.[28]
Post-mayoral career
Young has been a director of the Drum Major Institute for Public Policy, and is also the chairman of the board for the Global Initiative for the Advancement of Nutritional Therapy.[29]
From 2000 to 2001, Young served as president of the National Council of Churches.[32]
In 2003, Young founded the Andrew Young Foundation, an
organization meant to support and promote education, health, leadership
and human rights in the United States, Africa and the Caribbean.[33]
From February to August 2006, Young served as the public spokesman for Working Families for Walmart, an advocacy group for the retail chain Walmart.[34][dead link] Young resigned from the position soon after a controversial interview with the Los Angeles Sentinel, in which, when asked about Walmart hurting independent businesses,
he replied, "You see those are the people who have been overcharging
us, and they sold out and moved to Florida. I think they've ripped off
our communities enough. First it was Jews, then it was Koreans and now
it's Arabs."[35]
In 2007, GoodWorks Productions released the documentary film Rwanda Rising,[36] about Rwanda's progress since the Rwandan genocide of 1994. Young also served as the film's narrator. Rwanda Rising premiered as the opening night selection at the Pan African Film Festival in Los Angeles in 2007.[37]
An edited version of Rwanda Rising served as the pilot episode of Andrew Young Presents,[38] a series of quarterly, hour-long specials airing on nationally syndicated television.[39]
On January 22, 2008, Young appeared as a guest on the television show The Colbert Report. Host Stephen Colbert
invited Young to appear during the writers' strike, because, in 1969,
Young and Colbert's father had worked together to mediate a hospital
workers' strike.[40] Young made another appearance on The Colbert Report on November 5, 2008, to talk about the election of Barack Obama to the presidency.[41]
On January 19, 2015, Young gave the keynote address at Vanderbilt University's
Martin Luther King Jr. Commemoration Day. The theme was "Dismantling
Segregation: Race, Poverty, and Privilege", and Young spoke about his
experiences in Selma, stories of traveling with King, and his advice to
the next generation of leaders.[42]
On May 13, 2019, Young gave the keynote address at Emory University's spring commencement ceremony.
On May 29, 2020, Young remarked on the protests in Atlanta in reaction to the murder of George Floyd. He stated that riots, violence, and looting "hurt the cause instead of helping it".[43]
In 2023, Young launched the "Andrew Young HBCU Scholarship Program"[46] funded by McGraw Hill Education in partnership with the Institute of World Politics Chair of Law and Human Rights, Matthew Daniels and the Thurgood Marshall College Fund.
The scholarship is awarded to students who "demonstrate the vision and
leadership potential to be an ambassador for the unifying, non-violent
principles of Dr. King and Ambassador Young, rooted in respect for the
fundamental dignity, rights, and equality of all human beings."[47] Young also endorsed a companion bible study for those seeking to apply Dr. King's teachings to improving their communities.[48]
1995 Eagle Award from the United States Sports Academy.
The Eagle Award is the Academy's highest honor and was awarded to Young
for his significant contribution to international sport.
2010 Heroes, Saints and Legends Honoree, given by the Foundation of Wesley Woods;[61]
The 2011 Lifetime Achievement Emmy Award, for his involvement on Look Up and Live;[62]
2012 Georgia Trustee. Given by the Georgia Historical Society, in conjunction with the Governor of Georgia, to individuals whose accomplishments and community service reflect the ideals of the founding body of Trustees, which governed the Georgia colony from 1732 to 1752.[63]
International Boulevard, near Centennial Olympic Park, was renamed Andrew Young International Boulevard, in honor of his involvement in bringing the 1996 Summer Olympics to Atlanta.
The Andrew Young Center for International Affairs at Morehouse College was named after Young.
The Andrew and Walter Young YMCA, the only full-service YMCA operating in Southwest Atlanta, is named after Young and his younger brother.[67]
On March 11, 2021, Delta Air Lines renamed the building at the
entrance to their headquarters as the "Ambassador Andrew J. Young
International Building[69]"
The Andrew Young Crossing[70] in St. Augustine, FL
DeRoche, Andrew J. Andrew Young: Civil Rights Ambassador (Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2003).
Dorrien, Gary. A Darkly Radiant Vision: The Black Social Gospel in the Shadow of MLK (Yale University Press, 2023)
Hornsby Jr, Alton. "Andrew Jackson Young: Mayor of Atlanta, 1982-1990." Journal of Negro History 77.3 (1992): 159–182. online
Jones, Barlett C. Flawed Triumphs: Andy Young at the United Nations (1996).
Levy, Jessica Ann. "Selling Atlanta: black mayoral politics from protest to entrepreneurism, 1973 to 1990." Journal of Urban History 41.3 (2015): 420–443.
Thomson, Alex. "The Diplomacy of Impasse: the Carter Administration and Apartheid South Africa." Diplomacy & Statecraft 21.1 (2010): 107–124.
Van Wyk, Anna-Mart, and Jackie Grobler. "The Carter administration
and the institution of the 1977 mandatory arms embargo against South
Africa: rhetoric or active action?." Historia 51.1 (2006): 163–199. online
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Andrew Young.
