Andrew Jackson Young (1932- ), born in New Orleans, Louisiana, became one of Martin Luther King's most trusted aides. He was active in desegregation campaigns in Birmingham, Alabama, and Chicago, Illinois, and in the 1963 March on Washington. Young became Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) executive director in 1964 and, after King's death, executive vice president under Ralph Abernathy.

Elected to Congress in 1972, he was re-elected twice. President Jimmy Carter named him ambassador to the United Nations in 1977. In 1981, he was elected mayor of Atlanta and was re-elected overwhelmingly in 1985.