The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
New book chronicles rich life of Andrew Young
Reporter opens treasure trove of remarkable achievements.
As a reporter for The Atlanta Journal-constitution, Ernie Suggs has been crossing paths with Andrew Young since 1997. As the civil rights icon’s 90th birthday approached, Suggs wanted to honor the former congressman, ambassador, mayor and co-chair of the 1996 Summer Olympic Games by chronicling his life in pictures and words.
“The Many Lives of Andrew Young” (Newsouth Books) — a compilation of hundreds of full-color photographs, personal recollections from Young and narrative by Suggs — is the resulting tribute.
“It was just an amazing experience to sit down and write this book,” said Suggs. “And it has been an even greater experience touring the country with the ambassador and getting to know him better on a personal level. This has truly been the professional highlight of my life.”
In advance of his conversation with Ambassador Young at the Atlanta History Center on Thursday, Suggs fielded questions from ARTSATL about Young’s introduction to conflict resolution, his awakening on a mountaintop and the importance of speaking from the heart.
Q: What were some of the formative experiences of Andrew Young’s childhood in New Orleans that shaped his philosophy of resolving conflicts peacefully?
A: People underestimate just how much the fact of being Black can shape your thinking and philosophy. Andrew Young grew up in New Orleans, which at the time was a very international city with Black, white, Creole and French influences. In his white neighborhood, where his father had a dental practice, there was an intersection that had an Italian bar on one corner, a Chevy dealer on another, an Irish grocer on one and the Nazi party headquarters on the fourth. So as he said, he had to “be an ambassador and a negotiator to get to the grocery store and not get beat up.” Essentially, he has been negotiating and learning how to deal with peaceful conflict all his life and to quote him again, “I was born into this destiny.”
Q: Why did you choose to forgo the usual format for a biography in favor of a coffee table book that reads like a scrapbook or personal journal?
A: Because Young’s life is so colorful and rich. Practically speaking, Young’s life, dating as far back to his childhood, has been well documented. His family owned a photo studio, so even though he was born in the 1930s, there are tons of photos of him as a child — rare for Black children in those days. His mother saved all of his letters and documents.
Q: Shortly after graduating from Howard University, where Young admits to having been aimless, he experienced an awakening after running to the top of Kings Mountain in North Carolina. How did his life change as a result?
A: Young admits that he was not a good student at Howard, one of the premier HBCUS in the country. He ran track and swam with dreams of being an Olympian. He pledged the oldest Black fraternity in the country and dated rich D.C. students. He was also conflicted about where he wanted his life to go. Young toyed with public service and thought about the ministry. He was doubtful that he would even graduate.
He did graduate, of course, and literally, as his parents were taking him back to New Orleans from D.C., they stopped at a religious retreat in Kings Mountain. A runner, he decided to run up the mountain. He was sprinting and, overcome by something, passed out. When he came to, he saw the world differently. The colors were brighter. Everything seemed full of new meaning. And as he ran back down the mountain, he ran into his destiny, which he saw was to serve people as a pastor. Instead of going to dental school, he headed to Hartford Theological Seminary. Where, unlike at Howard, he thrived inside of the classroom, having discovered his purpose.
Q: As a reporter for the AJC (and fraternity brother), you’ve had a decadeslong relationship with Ambassador Young.
Did anything about his life’s story come as a surprise to you during the research and writing of your book?
A: Yes and no. I was surprised by the religious conversation and marveled at the fact that he was able to pinpoint the moment it happened, which I liken to a Biblical awakening. But because we are fraternity brothers — albeit 39 years apart, as he joined in 1950 and I joined in 1989 — I knew about his many achievements. He is one of the fraternity’s greatest living members, so even before I knew him, I “knew him.” Alpha men are trained and expected to achieve or strive for greatness and serve their communities. It is what I have tried to do since 1989, so, on a personal note, having a role model that I could watch, study, emulate and learn from has been very special.
Q: What was Ambassador Young’s response to seeing his life distilled in your words and the visual media selected to round out his biography?
A: He was thrilled. When he saw the proof, he was very emotional. And at one of our events, he said that even more so than his own autobiography, this is a book that his grandchildren can pick up and read, understand and enjoy.
Q: Which skill sets honed as a journalist did you find most useful in the writing of this biography? A: Great question. I have been covering Young since I moved to Atlanta in 1997, so the institutional knowledge was there, which is very important. So I was able to go into the project with a certain level of understanding of what the story was. But any reporter worthy of his pen will tell you that it is important to listen. So I made sure that during this process, and during my interviews, I sat down and listened to get the clearest understanding I could of what the story was. How to organize the story. And then how to tell the story. So being a reporter at the AJC since 1997, with so many amazing mentors who made me everything I am as a journalist and writer, I feel that I was very prepared for the challenge of telling Young’s story.
Q: How would Atlanta’s landscape be different absent Andrew Young’s public service as a congressman and mayor?
A: If Maynard Jackson was Jackie Robinson as Atlanta’s first Black mayor, Young was Hank Aaron. Meaning that Aaron’s generation of ballplayers who came after Robinson proved that Black people were just as capable or even better if given a chance. So as mayor, Young hit the ground running with grand ideas of how Atlanta could grow from a regional city to an international city where global corporations and Fortune 500 companies would want to do business, where the biggest airport in the world would be located.
Young tells the story of driving down Ponce on one of his first trips to Atlanta and slowing down for a crossing rat. Afraid to kill the rat, which he assumed had more rights in Atlanta than a Black man. Who could imagine that in this same city, this same man would help lead a civil rights movement, represent the state in Congress, negotiate with world leaders as an ambassador and lead this very city as it hosted the 1996 Olympics? Mayors who have come after him have built on his legacy. Businesses that come here benefit from his vision. Minus Young and his vision, Atlanta would be half the city it is.