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Former UN Ambassador Andrew J. Young,Jr.: A Diplomat In Perspective When on January 31, 1977, United Na tions Ambassador Andrew Jackson Young formally presented his credentials to the Secretary General of the United Nations, he had succeeded—by approximately 150 years —the coming of another unforgettable American, of the same given name, to one of the nation’s highest pinnacles of power. The earlier Andrew Jackson (1767-1845) was also a Southerner. In a similar fashion, the two figures represented a spirit of populism, and both were unashamedly forthright in setting forth their political opinions. The period in which the first Andrew Jackson had lived and served as our nation’s president became known to posterity as “the age of Andrew Jackson.” In the minds of many who are ardent lovers of, and seekers after, freedom, there may exist today an earnest hope that our present era might—depsite recent events—come to flower in such away that aptly it might be called “the age of Andrew Jackson Young Jr.” Unlike the Andrew Jackson who served as our seventh president (1829-1937), An drew J. Young Jr. has represented a popu lism and a sense of the people which is neither hyphenated by race nor limited by either religious or nationalistic considera tions. The former Andrew Jackson reflected and symbolized the brusque coming to power of a new “declared majority.” Andrew Jackson Young Jr., a black Ameri can—and therefore still viewed and dealt with in many public circles as “...half child” —has come to the national and global scene reflecting but the anticipatory power of a world “majority of minorities” which Andrew Young Jr. has expressed most eloquently in terms of simple yet world-engulfing hope. Humane and Cosmopolitan Outlook A thoroughly uncharacteristic diplomat, Andrew J. Young Jr. has demonstrated himself to be a man of breadth and bril liance, whose sense of the realities both of our larger world and of his immediate environment has been practically unparal leled in our nation’s diplomatic history. s’ * ■«- •M MM v jrc, <Mm F * f President Jimmy Carter, early in Andrew Young’s tenure at the United Nations, in a bold acknowledgement of Young’s genius and uniqueness, remarked that Andrew Young was simply “the best.” Andrew Young Jr. sees America, which he speaks of officially and symbolically in diplomatic circles as “my country,” as a kind of prototype of a national community, whose spirit of hope and determination are needed urgently throughout the world. In a statement before the United Nations Eco nomic and Social Council (ECOSOC), Mr. Young spoke in the following way of the courageous and exemplary manner in which the nation that he represented had at least begun to face one internal problem having a world-wide significance: “Pulling Ourselves Up By Our Own Bootstraps” A Series. Andrew Jackson Young, Jr. “One of the most serious problems confronting humankind today is the prob lem of racism and racial discrimination. In this area the people of the United States have a peculiar responsibility: as a nation long afflicted with the problems of racism and racial discrimination, we feel a respon sibility to contribute to the world struggle to eliminate all forms of racism and racial discrimination... “Furthermore, we have been engaged in the United States for more than a century in a serious nationwide struggle—in many respects a successful one —against rac ism. Our ongoing struggle, which is not completed by a long shot and which con tinues, has been conducted in general in an open and problem-solving way which mini- Stand Tall!. ..Lei Vie World See In Us A Shinini Vew National HI ACK MONITOR December. 1979 mizes violence to persons. “The experience of the United States, offers, we believe, many examples from which the rest of the world might selectively profit. We are still struggling to appreciate the richness of diversity and to purge our selves of the curse of believing in conformity and uniformity in this country; neverthe less, perhaps no other nation has made as much progress in its struggle against racism as the United States. “That this transformation took place over a relatively short time in the face of a problem many thought was insoluble is not only a source of pride for Americans, but grounds for faith that fundamental changes can take place when people of goodwill, everywhere in the world, show determina tion to work for them. “Without this faith, I would not have come here today.” A Fresh World View A carefully drawn and deeply perceptive picture of his own country was thus pro jected by Mr. Young. The same seasoned analysis and fresh perspective was brought to Mr. Young’s image of the global realities to which his ambassadorial office had to address itself. Here, Andrew Young saw an international system of what he has called “five worlds,” in which the United States is no longer the leading power. These worlds, or spheres of international activity and focus, include (1) the industrial nations; (2) the oil-rich and mineral-rich emerging na tions; (3) developing countries, such as the People’s Republic of China, Kenya, and India; (4) the “poorest of the poor” na tions; and (5) the multi-national corpora tions. For the United States to survive and retain credibility and reasonable influence in that kind of global universe, Mr. Young has felt that it is vital for our country “to get on the right side of the moral issues.” These moral issues include self-determina tion (or a firm stance against the “illegiti- (Continued on page 12.) Page 9