Coleman Young
| Coleman Young | |
|---|---|
Coleman A. Young
|
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| 66th Mayor of Detroit | |
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In office January 1, 1974 – January 3, 1994 |
|
| Preceded by | Roman Gribbs |
| Succeeded by | Dennis Archer |
| Member of the Michigan Senate from the 4th district |
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In office January 1, 1965 – 1973 |
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| Preceded by | Charles S. Blondy |
| Succeeded by | David S. Holmes, Jr. |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Coleman Alexander Young May 24, 1918 Tuscaloosa, Alabama |
| Died |
November 29, 1997 (aged 79) Detroit, Michigan |
| Resting place | Elmwood Cemetery, Detroit, Michigan |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Profession | Politician |
| Religion | Episcopalian |
| Military service | |
| Service/branch | Army Air Force |
| Years of service | 1942–1946 |
Coleman Alexander Young (May 24, 1918 – November 29, 1997) was an American politician who served as mayor of Detroit, Michigan from 1974 to 1994. Young was the first African-American mayor of Detroit.
Although Young had emerged from the far left element in Detroit, he moved to the right after his election as mayor. He called an ideological truce and gained widespread support from the city's business leaders. The new mayor was energetic in the construction of the Joe Louis Arena, and upgrading the city's mediocre mass transit system. Highly controversial was his assistance to General Motors to build its new "Poletown" plant at the site of the former Dodge Main plant, which involved evicting many long-time residents. It has been argued that he pulled money out of the neighborhood to rehabilitate the downtown business district, because "there were no other options."
Young's tenure as mayor has been blamed in part for the city's ills, especially the exodus of middle class taxpayers to the suburbs, the emergence of powerful drug-dealing gangs, and the rising crime rate. Political scientist James Q. Wilson wrote that, "In Detroit, Mayor Coleman Young rejected the integrationist goal in favor of a flamboyant, black-power style that won him loyal followers, but he left the city a fiscal and social wreck."
In 1981, he received the Spingarn Medal from the NAACP.
Young was born in Tuscaloosa, Alabama to William Coleman Young, a dry cleaner, and Ida Reese Jones. His family moved to Detroit in 1923, where he graduated from Eastern High School in 1935. A member of United Auto Workers, Young worked for Ford Motor Company and later the United States Post Office Department.
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