Andrew Young to speak during university's fourth annual Martin Luther King Jr. celebration
Andrew Young, chairman of GoodWorks International, will be the keynote speaker for the fourth annual Martin Luther King Jr. celebration at Virginia Tech.
Young’s visit to campus is part of the week-long commemoration of the legacy of King. The event will take place Monday, Jan. 19 at 7 p.m. in Burruss Hall auditorium. Learn more about other fourth annual Martin Luther King Jr. celebration-related events.
Young was instrumental in organizing voter registration and desegregation campaigns through his work with the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, the church-centered, Atlanta-based civil rights organization led by King. Young became a trusted aide and close friend to King and eventually served as the executive director of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.
Through his extensive network with GoodWorks International, a private corporation that directly links emerging markets and commercial ventures, Young facilitates new business propositions that focus on advancing the economic standing in Africa and the Caribbean.
When speaking publicly, Young focuses on the future of doing business domestically and on a global scale. He challenges his audience to continue the movement toward peace and justice throughout the world.
He is a Distinguished Executive Fellow and Honorary Professor of Public Policy at the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies at Georgia State University. He has served as an ambassador, congressman, and mayor. Young spent three terms as a United States Congressman with his first term being in 1973. In 1977 President Carter appointed Young to be the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations.
From 1982 to 1989, Young was the mayor of Atlanta, Ga., where in 1996, he was instrumental in bringing the Summer Olympic Games to Atlanta. Young is a member of the board of directors for numerous businesses and organizations including the advisory board of the Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change.
Tickets for the presentation, which will be available Dec. 3, are required to attend this free event that is open to the public. This event is sponsored by the Office for Equity and Inclusion and Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity. For ticket information, visit the University Unions and Student Activities (UUSA) website, or the ticket office on the first floor of Squires Student Center.
