Anis Abidar Ms. Loussedes English 9 Period 1 March 17, 2023 Whitney M. Young Jr. is a Person Worth Knowing Whitney M. Young Jr. was one of the greatest civil rights activists of his time. Born and raised in rural Kentucky, he was surrounded by black people who were treated with respect, and was very isolated from racism. Young Jr. was described as a confident dynamic man who could impress white leaders. Whitney M. is a person worth knowing because he increased job opportunities for African Americans, spoke his mind without fear, and was able to speak with and raise money from powerful white leaders. Young Jr. was born at Lincoln Institute, a private school for black people located in Kentucky. His dad was the first principal of the school …show more content…
Young Jr. is a person worth knowing because he wasn’t afraid to speak his own mind. An example of him speaking his mind, is when he knew lots of people criticized him for working with whites and seeming slightly complacent with only white leaders running the country, but he said that instead of cursing out whites on the street, he focused more on getting thousands of African Americans jobs. (“Whitney M. Young, Jr.” Contemporary 5) This example supports the idea that Whitney M. Young Jr. wasn’t afraid to speak his own mind, because it shows that he is doing what he thinks is right, and he stuck to his plan despite being criticized and disliked by many. This characteristic helps him to be one of the greatest civil rights leaders of his time, since many people in his situation would change plans to win everyone's support, but Young Jr. decides to stick to his plan because he believes that it will be for the better. This is one of the reasons why Whitney M. Young Jr. was one of the greatest civil rights leaders of his …show more content…
Young Jr. was one of the greatest civil rights leaders of his time because of his ability to speak to and raise money from white leaders. Since he was surrounded by respected black leaders as a child, those characteristics most likely rubbed off on him since he was able to make relationships with many powerful white leaders. An example of him speaking to powerful white leaders is when he met up with corporations like AT&T, Scott Paper, RCA, and General Electric, and spoke to them about how to integrate the work place. (“Whitney M Young, Jr.” Contemporary 5) Young Jr. claimed to be an intermediary between whites and blacks. This shows how Young Jr. was able to speak with white leaders and used that ability to later on become one of the greatest civil rights leaders of his