Legislator Details
Vital Records Information:
Birth
Death
Burial
Marital Information:
children: 1, Coleman Young, Jr. (formerly Joel Loving) by Annivory Calvert. Twice married and divorced.
Number of Children: 1
Background
Education:
Detroit Eastern High School
Biographical Sketch:
Son of William Coleman Young and Ida Reese Jones Young. Moved to Detroit in 1923 with family. Declined a scholarship to University of Michigan due to other financial shortfalls. He worked Ford’s assembly line and quickly became involved in underground labor activities which lead to his firing. He joined the US Army in 1942, reaching the rank of second lieutenant, serving as a bombardier and navigator in the Tuskegee Airmen unit. He served as Mayor of Detroit, MI from 1974-1993. Member of the Masons; Booker T. Washington Business Men's Association; Trade Union Leadership Council; Association for the Study of Negro Life and history; and NAACP.
Received the Spingarn Medal, 1981.
Member of the Tuskegee Airmen; NAACP; TULC; Booker T. Washington Business Association; ACLU; Association for the Study of Negro Life and History
Notable Facts:
First African American mayor of Detroit. Second African American Michigan State Senator. Founder of the National Negro Labor Council.
Delegate to State Constitutional Convention from Wayne County, 1961-62.
First African American member of the Democratic National Committee, 1969-1981.
Delegate to Democratic National Convention, 1972, 1980, 1996.
Presidential Elector for MI, 1992.
Appeared before the House Un-American Activities Committee in 1952. 1st African American MI Senate Democratic Floor Leader.
Resigned from the senate to run for mayor of Detroit.
Special representative, AFL-CIO Council.
Board of Directors for Ferndale Cooperative Credit Union.
Published his autobiography, Hard Stuff in 1994.
Died at Sinai Hospital in Detroit of emphysema.