The Honorable Andrew Young Oral History Interview: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

An oral history consisting of a single digital video recording (2018.78.1.1). It was collected as part of the Poor People’s Campaign Interviews.

In this interview statesman and civil rights icon, Andrew Young, discusses how he came to be involved in the struggle for civil rights; his work with Dr. Martin Luther King and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference; and his career as a politician. The interview begins with a discussion of Rev. Young’s upbringing and family life in New Orleans, LA. Reflecting on his early life, Young relates the lessons he learned from his father, along with his experience in a racially, ethnically, and culturally diverse community, to why he was well-suited to participate in the Movement. Young talks about his time at Howard University and recounts several life experiences that were important to his maturation and led him to enter the ministry. Young also discusses the first time he met Coretta Scott King and Martin Luther King, and reflects on the influence of his wife, Jean Childs Young, on his life and career.

Beginning with when he and his wife heard about the Nashville sit-ins while living in New York City, Young turns to a discussion of the Civil Rights Movement and his work with the SCLC. In particular, Young discusses the shift in 1966-1967 toward the struggles of urban populations in the North and explains that the growing focus on economic issues gave birth to the Poor People’s Campaign of 1968. Young also discusses the transition from SCLC and working in the movement to becoming a politician and how he carried forward the struggle of the Poor People’s Campaign into the political arena as a congressman and mayor.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: July 18, 2017
• Created by: National Museum of African American History and Culture, American, founded 2003
• Interview of: Andrew Young, American, born 1932
• Interviewed by: Rex M. Ellis, American
• Subject of: Poor People's Campaign, American, 1967 - 1968
• Subject of: Jean Childs Young, American, 1933 - 1994
• Subject of: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., American, 1929 - 1968
• Subject of: Coretta Scott King, American, 1927 - 2006
• Subject of: Howard University, American, founded 1867
• Type: video recordings
• Type: oral histories
• Type: digital media - born digital
• Medium: digital
• Dimensions: Duration: 1 hr., 54 min., 29 sec.
• Dimensions: File size: 19.92 GB
• Place collected: Washington, District of Columbia, United States, North and Central America
• Place depicted: New Orleans, Orleans County, Louisiana, United States, North and Central America
• Place depicted: Marion, Perry County, Alabama, United States, North and Central America
• Place depicted: Washington, District of Columbia, United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Activism
• Topic: Civil Rights
• Topic: Humanitarianism
• Topic: Justice
• Topic: Labor
• Topic: Politics
• Topic: Poverty
• Object number: 2018.78.1.1
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
• Data Source: National Museum of African American History and Culture

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of African American History and Culture through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed. The underlying object's rights statement is: © Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.