Jean Childs Young

Young, alongside her husband, Andrew, contributed much of her life to the Civil Rights Movement. Both Young and Andrew felt that their participation in the movement was consistent with their beliefs and values as those involved in ministry.[6] Andrew was specifically influenced by the nonviolent resistance taught by Gandhi, and Young had also been influenced by similar nonviolent and pacifist beliefs while studying at Manchester College.[3] Her background in education— specifically in regards to creating curriculum for public schools— carried over to her work in Civil Rights, as she created curriculum for “the Citizenship Schools of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.” She also aided her husband in his attempt to secure voters rights for African Americans, including during the Thomasville rallies.[2] In 1956, the couple worked to organize a voter registration rally in Thomasville, Georgia— one of their first involvements in the Civil Rights Movement.[2] They were inspired by the Brown vs. Board of Education ruling that outlawed segregation, and felt that they could make a substantial impact through such rallies.[2] Despite initially meeting resistance from the Ku Klux Klan, the 1965 voter registration rally was successfully carried out at a local high school in Thomasville.[2]

The couple later moved to New York City, which hindered their direct involvement in the movement for some time.[6] Yet when Young and Andrew witnessed the Nashville Sit-Ins of 1960, they felt compelled to return to the South, moving back to Atlanta and becoming more involved in the movement than ever. Both Young and Andrew believed in the power of the youth to create change, and were inspired by the Sit-Ins partly because of the high youth involvement in the boycotts, protests, and marches in Nashville.[6] Upon their return to the south, Andrew began his work alongside Martin Luther King Jr. Although he initially denied Martin's request that he work for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, Andrew joined a few years later, in 1964.[2] Young had gone to the same high school as Dr. King's wife, Coretta Scott King, and the two later became good friends as their husbands continued their work in the movement together.[2] According to Young, the work that he and Martin did would not have been possible if it weren't for the support of the women they married.

Moreover, Young also participated in some of the most famous marches of the Civil Rights Movement, including the march in Alabama from Selma to Montgomery which began on March 21, 1965.[3] Young decided, in spite of her husband's initial concerns, to attend the march and bring her two daughters, Andrea and Lisa, with her. The famous march drew mass media attention and contributed to establishing the Voting Rights Act later that year.[7]

Along with actively participating in marches and other protests, Young and her husband often opened their home to students and others participating in the movement that needed a place to stay in Atlanta; people often slept in the basement or wherever else there was space in their house on a given night.[1] In this sense, Young and Andrew were deeply involved in the movement, either through active participation or though enabling others to participate as well. Both Young and Andrew expressed the sentiment that neither overshadowed the other person, and that Young worked alongside her husband, rather than behind him.[2][6] Not only was she his support, but she was his partner in the work he did as well. Young also resisted segregation in her personal life, and through the realm of education. Alongside Coretta Scott King, she attempted to enroll her daughters in schools that had not yet been desegregated.[3] Her two daughters, Andrea and Lisa, were among the first black children to attend newly-desegregated private schools in Atlanta.[6]

Young was actively involved in promoting children's rights, and served on the committee for numerous national organizations, as well as organizations specific to Atlanta, that worked towards securing rights for children and ensuring the flourishing of children both in America and across the world.[1][3] Young worked for the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund and Children's Defense Fund.[3]

In 1978, Young was appointed as chair of the American committee of the UN International Year of the Child by President Jimmy Carter.[8][1] The International Year of the Child was a program that was funded and supported by the United Nations, and was meant to secure rights and improve the quality of life for children worldwide.[9] Many countries participated in the program internationally. The program came about as a response to the concern that “far too many children, especially in developing countries are undernourished, are without access to adequate health services, are missing the basic educational preparation for their future and are deprived of the elementary amenities of life.”[9] Jimmy Carter claimed to have appointed Young due to her wide expertise in child's rights advocacy and her background in education.[8]

The International Year of the Child had two main objectives that they hoped to accomplish within that year. The first goal of the International Year of the Child was to bring international awareness to the particular needs of children and the necessity of taking these needs into consideration during government decision and policy making.[9] Bringing the needs of children into public awareness was the first step in ensuring that children's needs are being considered and recognized by nations and their governments across the world.[9] The second goal was to encourage international acknowledgement of the importance of children's organizations, and to promote the idea that such organizations “should be an integral part of economic and social development plans with a view to achieving...sustained activities for the benefit of the children at the national and international levels.”[9]

Young was also actively involved in government, and ran campaigns geared towards those underrepresented in politics. In 1970, she founded “Women for Andrew Young:” a campaign aimed at women that promised her husband's support of women's issues should he win the position of mayor of Atlanta.[10] Along with her direct involvement in government during her husband's tenure as mayor, Young actively participated in organizations such as the League of Women Voters of Georgia, which promoted the women's involvement in voting and the political system in general.[11] Beyond this, the League advocated for fair government in Georgia that promoted equality.[11] The League also had connections to education, as it advocated for equal opportunities and access to equal education for all students.[11] This was a cause that Young had dedicated much effort towards in her lifetime.