Whitney Young | |
|---|---|
 Young in 1964 | |
| Executive Director of the National Urban League | |
| In office 1961–1971 | |
| Preceded by | Lester Granger |
| Succeeded by | Vernon Jordan |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Whitney Moore Young Jr. July 31, 1921 Shelby County, Kentucky, U.S. |
| Died | March 11, 1971 (aged 49) Lagos, Nigeria |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 2 |
| Education | Kentucky State University (BS) Massachusetts Institute of Technology University of Minnesota, Twin Cities (MSW) |
| Awards | Presidential Medal of Freedom |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | United States |
| Branch/service | United States Army |
| Years of service | 1941–1946 |
| Rank | First Sergeant |
| Battles/wars | World War II |
Whitney Moore Young Jr. (July 31, 1921 – March 11, 1971) was an American civil rights leader. Trained as a social worker, he spent most of his career working to end employment discrimination in the United States and turning the National Urban League from a relatively passive civil rights organization into one that aggressively worked for equitable access to socioeconomic opportunity for the historically disenfranchised. Young was influential in the United States federal government's War on Poverty in the 1960s.