Jean young book by Donald

jean childs

Life Quilt Assemblage

"every child is a gifted child"

With Dr. Benjamin Mays reading Uncle Remus Stories to children

At the reception following her wedding to Andrew Young

Jean Marie Childs as a teenager in Marion, Alabama

Teaching at Atlanta Junior College

Marching for Civil Rights

First Congregational Church, Marion, Alabama

With children in Africa Building a Habitat for Humanity house

With the LUV Ladies Tennis Team

Receiving an honorary doctorate from her alma mater-Manchester College Her fatherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s family businessâ&#x20AC;&#x201C; Childs Bakery (next panel)

JEAN CHILDS YOUNG Jean Childs Young was a champion for children, an educator who believed every child was a gifted child. She was a courageous human rights activist who participated in voter registration drives and protest marches during the height of America’s Civil Rights Movement. As Atlanta’s First Lady from 1982-1990, Jean Young founded the Mayor’s Task Force on Public Education, the Mayor’s Scholars Program and the Dream Jamboree. Her efforts increased annual scholarships for Atlanta Public School students from $3 million to $20 million. Jean Young was a beloved mother and grandmother, devoted friend, political advisor and a celebrated volunteer. A year after she died in 1994, the Atlanta Public Schools commemorated Mrs.Young’s legacy of service by renaming Southwest Middle School in her honor. Jean Childs Young Middle School stands in memory of her life-long dedication to education and to her spirit of altruism.

Born in Marion, Alabama in 1933, Jean Childs earned a bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education from Indiana’s Manchester College and a master’s degree in education from Queen’s College in New York. Manchester College later awarded its former May Queen an honorary doctorate degree. In 1954, Jean married Andrew Young, a seminary student at Hartford Divinity School. During her career in education, Mrs.Young served as an elementary school teacher in the public schools of Thomasville, Ga.; Hartford, Ct.; and Atlanta. She became a Master Teacher in the Atlanta Public Schools’ Teacher Corps and later helped establish Atlanta Junior College (now Atlanta Metropolitan College). Jean Young was active during pivotal events–nationally and locally–in the Civil Rights Movement. She participated in the Selma to Montgomery March; walked picket lines at Rich’s department store in Atlanta and developed curriculum for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference’s Citizenship Schools. She and Andrew opened their home to colleagues, including Martin Luther King, Jr.

President Jimmy Carter appointed Jean Young as the United States Chair of the 1979 United Nations International Year of the Child, a program where 50 states and more than 100 countries marked the 20th anniversary of the United Nations Declaration of the Rights of the Child. She served on the boards of the Children’s Defense Fund, Habitat for Humanity, Georgia Council on Child Abuse, Families First, the Team Defense Project, and along with Lucy Vance, she founded the Atlanta Fulton Commission on Children and Youth.

In 1972, Jean Young organized “Women for Andrew Young,” the first local political campaign geared toward women. Mrs. Young was active in the League of Women Voters of Atlanta-Fulton County, the National Federation of Democratic Women, the Equal Rights Amendment campaign, NAACP, SCLC/WOMEN, Cambodian Crisis Committee, and she supported African nations in their human rights struggles. Among her many citations for service, Jean Young was honored as

Georgia’s 1983 Democratic Woman of the Year. The Atlanta Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta presented her its Lifetime Achievement Award; her name is honored in the Civil Rights Walk of Fame, and in 1993, she received the YWCA Woman of Achievement Award and the 11 Alive Community Service Award. Jean Young was an enthusiastic volunteer in the effort to bring the 1996 Centennial Olympic Games to Atlanta. She and her husband hosted International Olympic Committee members in their home and travelled extensively to promote the Atlanta Games. Mrs.Young was an active member of First Congregational Church of Atlanta, Jack and Jill of America and The Links. She was the founding board chair of Atlanta’s APEX Museum, and she was a board member of the Georgia Women of Achievement Museum. An avid tennis player, Jean Young was a member of the Atlanta Lawn Tennis Association. A dynamic, gracious woman who led through service, Jean Young is well-loved and long-remembered by the many whose lives she touched.

At the press conference immediately after Atlanta was announced the Winner of the 1996 Centennial Olympics at Underground Atlanta (left)

1. With (L-R)Willie Bolden, Hosea Williams, Otis Moss, Christine King Farris, Coretta Scott King and Al Lingo at Celebrate Difference – King Week 1991 2. With Mayor’s Scholars – Mayor’s Task Force on Public Education

3. Campaigning for the Equal Rights Amendment with feminist activist, Gloria Steinem

4. With President Jimmy Carter at the White House, being appointed Chair of the U.S. Commission on the United Nations International Year of the Child.

5. With Andrew Young at First Congregational Church 6. Celebrating Atlanta’s successful bid for the 1996 Olympics – welcoming Bid Team home

7. “Jean: The Other Activist Named Young ,” Essence Magazine article

8. With Bo (bottom left) and First Lady Rosalyn Carter 9. With Andrew Young, Hank & Billye Aaron during Andrew’s campaign for Mayor of Atlanta 10. Traveling in Africa as Chair, International Year of the Child 11. The Young family Christmas portrait, (L-R) Andrea, Lisa, Jean, Andrew, Andrew III, Paula

12. With family the night of Andrew Young’s election to Congress (L-R) Lisa, Andrea, Norman Childs, Idella Childs, Paula, Andrew, Jean (&Bo), Daisy Young, Andrew Young,Sr. 13. With Nelson Mandela on his visit to Atlanta 14. With Andrew Young, Coretta Scott King & Rosa Parks 15. With grandchildren (L-R) Lena Alston, Taylor Marie Stanley and Kemet Alston 16. With Dr. King and Ralph Bunche on the March from Selma to Montgomery for Voting Rights

ABOUT THE ARTIST Lillian Blades’ work has appeared solo and in group exhibitions throughout the United States, the Bahamas, Trinidad, Germany and South Africa. Her work has been commissioned for Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport and is also in the collections of the Birmingham Museum of Art and the National Art Gallery of the Bahamas. Ms. Blades was born in Nassau, Bahamas in 1973. She earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Savannah College of Art and Design and a Master of Fine Arts degree from Georgia State University. She also studied at Maine’s prestigious Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture and at Caversham in KwaZulu Natal, South Africa.

ARTISTIC STATEMENT FOR JEAN CHILDS YOUNG LIFE QUILT ASSEMBLAGE My aim was to capture a quilted portrait of Jean Childs Young’s life, creating a reflective opportunity for the viewer. Quilts typically are made to nurture, comfort and protect. These words describe the essence of Jean Childs Young’s character. Her mother, Idella Childs, was a quilter. In my assemblage, I incorporated quilts Mrs. Childs made for her grandchildren. Using these family quilts symbolize the intergenerational transfer of values. I want the viewer’s eye to travel Jean Young’s life quilt to grasp the beauty of an angel who loved the beauty of life; I want viewers to sense Mrs.Young’s passion for children. I used glass and mirrors to give viewers an opportunity for self-reflection as their eyes scan the quilt. For me, the mirrors offer introspection and echo Jean Young’s hope for students of Jean Childs Young Middle School. Eyes are the window to the soul. I have included the photographic eyes of Mrs.Young in which you can see her depth of love and concern for everything she focused on. I invite viewers to see and act upon the world through Jean Young’s vantage point. The artwork includes eyes drawn by Young Middle School students who were instructed to pair up and draw their partner’s eyes, gaining access to each other’s inner being.

ABOUT THE COMMISSION During the Jean Childs Young Middle School renovation in 2010, Andrea Young and Lisa Young Alston acted as advisors to the school, for the installation of artwork celebrating Jean Childs Young. A team including Atlanta Public School officials, H.J. Russell and Company principals and art consultant Jerry Thomas collaborated to determine an artistic tribute that would duly honor Mrs.Young. Bringing considerable talents and experience to his consulting role, Mr. Thomas gained consensus on his recommendations for artwork and photography that creatively conveyed the legacy of Jean Childs Young. He was integral to art selection, project management and installation. The Andrew J. Young Foundation commissioned Lillian Blades to produce the Jean Childs Young Life Quilt Assemblage. The Atlanta Public Schools, as well as many friends and family members contributed to making this commemorative commission a reality.

JEAN CHILDS YOUNG ART PROJECT CONTRIBUTORS Andrew J.Young Foundation Bo & Angelica Young Michael Ross Georgia Power Lisa & Douglas Alston • Clarence & Jacqueline Avant Egbert & Renee Perry Rebecca Aggrey Samuel & Joyce Bacote Juanita & Gregory Baranco Harold & Rose Dawson Charles T. Huddleston Juanita Robinson Carter Norman & Jacqueline Childs Evangeline B. Colbert Claire Crooks Harrison James Mac Hunter William Ide, III John & Vivian Ingersoll

Aaron & Brenda Turpeau Marilyn J. Arrington Clara Haley Axam Cary A. Booker Joy San Walker Brown Louis J. Childs Gerald & Muriel Durley Bette Graves Thomas Bob & Lettie Green Avarita Hanson Verna & Virgil Hodges L. B. James

Marian Jones Otis and Edwina Moss Nan Orrock John R. & Susie B. Pearson Robert P. Saxon Leah Sears George & Delores Thomas Nikki Young Walker Delores Washington Tonya & Terrence Williams Andrea Young

ANDREW J.YOUNG FOUNDATION Andrew Young has brought a philosophy of creative non-violence to his work as pastor, civil rights leader, diplomat, politician and humanitarian, establishing a model and legacy of effective servant leadership in Atlanta, America and the world. Through the Andrew J.Young Foundation that legacy and example are being documented, preserved and interpreted for application by current and future leaders. Ambassador Andrew J.Young, Chairman Mrs. Carolyn McClain Young, Vice Chair Andrea Young, Executive Director

www.andrewjyoungfoundation.org Jean Childs Young Middle School • Dr. Kelvin Griffin, Principal