Whitney M. Young, Jr. was an African American rights leader. He was born in Lincoln Ridge, Kentucky on July 31,1921. This was where Young was raised and pretty much grew up all his life. He lived in a regular house on the university campus. He went to college at Kentucky State, the first fraternity for African Americans. Young’s father taught at the campus they lived on until he was a teenager. His mother was Laura Young, she was a postmaster in Kentucky and she was the first African American postmaster.

When Young graduated he had a bachelor of a science degree. Young got training in electrical engineering. He got hired on a job of road construction crew of black soldiers. Young wasn’t treated very good by his white officers. After that he decided to go into a career in race relations.

After World War 2 he met his wife Margaret at the University of Minnesota. At the University he got a masters degree in social work. He was then the president of the Urban Leagues Omaha, Nebraska branch. He helped African American get jobs that were meant for whites. He went then to Harvard University, and joined NAACP and wanted to become state president. On March 11, 1971 Whitney M. Young Jr. past away after drowning while swimming with his friends.