Andrew Young has been called Atlanta’s secret weapon in the campaign to host the 1996 Olympic Games.
After stints as a member of the U.S. Congress and U.S. Ambassador to the U.N., Young was mayor of Atlanta when he gave the green light in 1987 to make a bid for the 1996 Summer Olympics.
Young played a significant role in the Atlanta bid. He reached out to the worldwide network of contacts he made as a diplomat as well as through his work in the U.S. civil rights movement. Young is now the elder statesman of the cause once led by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
When Atlanta was chosen as the 1996 host, Young became co-chair of the board of directors for the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games.
Young turns 90 on March 12, an occasion that includes four days of events this week. Young will preach at his church downtown Atlanta. A march is organized for one day. A birthday dinner with hundreds of guests is set for the actual birthday.
He talks about his life with the Olympics, his work with Dr. King and some thoughts about the invasion of Ukraine by Russia in this podcast with ATR founder Ed Hula.
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