By Cheryl Oestreicher, Project Archivist, Andrew J. Young Papers
The Andrew Young Papers, located at Auburn Avenue Research Library, contain documents spanning Young’s entire career – from his days at Hartford Theological Seminary in the early 1950s through his current activities at GoodWorks International, and includes material from his participation in the Civil Rights Movement.
For more information about the collection described in this post, please contact the Archives at Auburn Avenue Research Library, aarl [dot] archives [at] fultoncountyga [dot] gov
Having first met Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in 1957, Young started with the Southern Christian Leadership Conference in 1961, working on the Citizenship Schools with Dorothy Cotton and Septima Clark. He advanced to be a close assistant of Dr. King and performed numerous duties, including coordinating programs and writing speeches. Young helped plan the travels for the numerous people who attended the ceremony to watch Dr. King accept his Nobel Peace Prize in 1964. Through his letters to his wife as well as his notes, one can see Young’s participation, logistics, and documentation of this historic journey.
Pages from Andrew Young’s notebook, planning the trip to Norway to receive Dr. King’s Nobel Prize. Click to view larger image.
The Andrew J. Young Papers are currently closed to researchers and are expected to be open in late 2010.
The Auburn Avenue Research Library on African American Culture and History is the first library of its kind in the southeast offering specialized reference and archival collections for the study and research of African cultures. For more information visit: http://www.afpls.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=blogcategory&id=22&Itemid=76
“Working for Freedom: Documenting Civil Rights Organizations” is a collaborative project between Emory University, the Auburn Avenue Research Library on African American Culture and History, the Amistad Research Center at Tulane University, and the Robert W. Woodruff Library of Atlanta University Center to uncover and make available previously hidden collections documenting the Civil Rights Movement in Atlanta and New Orleans. The project is administered by the Council on Library and Information Resources with funds from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.