Born in Kentucky on July 31, 1921, Whitney Moore Young, Jr., grew up in a middle-class family in the segregated south. He was the younger brother of Arnita and the older brother of Eleanor. His first life experiences were on the campus of Lincoln Institute, a boarding school for African Americans. Whitney's father, Whitney Moore Young, Sr., was educated at the institute, and returned in the early 1920s to begin his career as a teacher of janitorial engineering and chief campus engineer.

By 1935, Whitney Young, Sr., became the fifth principal and first African American to head the institution.

Whitney Young, Jr., graduated from Kentucky State College with plans to attend medical school. At the outbreak of World War II, he joined the army. Experiences with racial conflict in the military inspired him to earn a graduate degree in Social Work and pursue a career in race relations.

Whitney Young worked for the Urban League in St. Paul and Omaha before becoming Dean of the Atlanta University School of Social Work. He returned to the Urban League in 1961 and served as its Executive Director until his untimely death ten years later.

Using the Urban League as a platform, he worked to put an end to segregation and discrimination. He persistently worked within the system to change attitudes, practices and to promote greater cultural sensitivity. In a tumultuous period of American history, he was an effective communicator who succeeded in bridging the gap between African Americans and American business leaders.

His goal to gain access for African Americans to good jobs, education, housing, health care, and social services came alive with his use of irony, reason, persuasion, negotiation, and sense of humor. Young firmly believed that full participation of African-Americans in the American business community would ultimately strengthen the fiber of our society.

His vision transcended the boundaries of our nation as he anticipated the need to strengthen the critical link between the United States and the global economy. He showed the business world why it was in its best interest to share power with African Americans.

"You are the one that suffers if this community becomes poorer. If people become tax eaters rather than tax producers, if people produce crime and welfare costs instead of producing goods and services, you pay the costs," he said.

Young was the author of two books, "To Be Equal" (1964) and "Beyond Racism" (1969). He sat on numerous federal committees and met with U.S. Presidents, legislators, business, and community leaders. In 1969, President Lyndon B. Johnson awarded Whitney M. Young, Jr., the nation's highest civilian honor, The Medal of Freedom.