In the 1950s, Coleman Young struggled to earn a living. He was blacklisted by both private industry and the FBI for his union activities. So he worked as a dry cleaner, wall washer, taxi driver and other unsteady jobs. When his wife Marion was pregnant and had a complication, they could not afford the medical care. The child was lost and the marriage would later collapse.
Young entered election politics in 1960s. At the '61 Michigan Constitutional Convention, he co-wrote the civil rights section of the new state constitution. In '64 he was elected as a State Senator and rose to Democratic floor leader two years later. His colleagues regarded him as both a fiery and astute politician who understood the art of coalition building. In '68 Young became the first black member of the Democratic National Committee.
Young was elected Mayor of Detroit in 1973. In his campaign he vowed to fully integrate the police force and work to end police brutality against black citizens that was endemic in the city. Police brutality sparked the 1967 riot that accelerated white flight which made blacks a majority in the city.
Coleman A. Young
1918-1997
In his own words:
“If there has been a prevailing theme to all my efforts of the past six decades, it has been the importance of racial unity in addressing the country’s socioeconomic problems. The power of unity was political lesson number one for me, and I take umbrage at the charge that I stand for anything but.”
“I have never been anything but a pragmatic radical. As mayor, I want the same things I wanted as a disenfranchised radical - equality in jobs, education, housing and social environment for the people I represent."
"I have to believe that government shouldn't be run by public opinion polls. At some point, if you accept a position of leadership, you decide to proceed on what you think is right and let the people judge at election time."
Detroit was in dire times when Young assumed office. The flight of people, capital and jobs combined with the decline of the domestic auto industry and the oil embargo exacted a heavy toll on the city.
Young set out to create new partner ships with corporate leaders, like Henry Ford II, to try to rebuild the economic base of the city. As a result of the Mayor's efforts, Ford built the Renaissance Center on the riverfront and both GM and Chrysler built new plants in Detroit.
Mayor Young was elected five times. Among his many accomplishments:
- Young integrated the police force and raised its professionalism to nationally acclaimed levels.
- Young balanced the city's budget despite a declining tax base and federal and state cutbacks.
- Young provided unprecedented opportunity in city government to blacks and women and increased the awarding of minority contracts an astounding seven-thousand fold, spurring an African-American entrepreneurialism that continues to transform the city.
