Coleman Alexander Young was born on May 24, 1918, and died on November 29, 1997. He was an American politician who served as the mayor of Detroit, Michigan, from 1974 to 1994. Young was the first African-American mayor of Detroit and is often called the "single most influential person in Detroit's modern history."

Before becoming mayor, Young was part of a group with strong left-wing views. After he became mayor, he focused on supporting business interests. He worked to bring together people with different ideas and gained support from many business leaders in the city. As mayor, he promoted projects to improve downtown Detroit, including the Joe Louis Arena and the Renaissance Center. During his time in office, many factories left the city, but Young tried to keep major companies, such as General Motors' Poletown project and Chrysler's Jefferson North assembly, in Detroit. Some people criticized him for taking money from neighborhoods to fix up the downtown area, but Young said, "there were no other options."

In 1981, Young was awarded the Spingarn Medal by the NAACP for his achievements.

Early life and education

Coleman Young was born in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, to William Coleman Young, who worked as a dry cleaner, and Ida Reese Jones. His family moved to Detroit in 1923 as part of the Great Migration, a movement of African Americans from the South to northern cities for better job opportunities. Later, his family converted to Catholicism, but Young was not allowed to attend a Catholic high school because of his race. He graduated from Eastern High School in 1935. He joined the United Auto Workers and worked for Ford Motor Company. Later, he worked for the United States Post Office Department.

During World War II, Young served in the 477th Medium-Bomber Group, a unit known as the Tuskegee Airmen, in the United States Army Air Forces. He held the rank of second lieutenant and worked as a bombardier and navigator. As a lieutenant in the 477th, Young was involved in the Freeman Field Mutiny in 1945. At that time, about 162 African-American officers were arrested for refusing to accept segregation at a military base near Seymour, Indiana.

In the 1940s, Young was accused of being linked to the Communist Party because he belonged to groups connected to the Party. He was also accused of being a former member. His work with organizations focused on workers' rights, including the Progressive Party, the United Auto Workers, and the National Negro Labor Council, made him a target of investigators, such as the FBI and HUAC. He opposed segregation in the Army and racial discrimination in the United Auto Workers. In 1948, he supported Henry A. Wallace, the Progressive Party's candidate for president.

In 1952, Young surprised many people when he appeared before the McCarthy-era House Committee on Un-American Activities (HUAC) and refused to answer questions about his possible Communist Party membership. He made sarcastic remarks and repeatedly used the Fifth Amendment to avoid answering. This hearing took place in Detroit and received much public attention. Young's actions made him a hero in Detroit's growing Black community. When a committee member said he seemed reluctant to fight communism, Young responded:

He also said to another HUAC member:

According to historians Harvey Klehr, John Earl Haynes, and Ronald Radosh, Coleman Young was "a secret CPUSA [Communist Party USA] member."

Political career

In the 1940s and 1950s, Young developed his political support in Detroit’s East Side, an area that had become a main center for African-American residents. In 1960, he was chosen as a delegate to help create a new state constitution for Michigan.

In 1964, Young was elected to the Michigan State Senate. His most important law required arbitration to resolve disagreements between public-sector unions and local governments. During his time in the Senate, he highlighted unfairness in how Michigan spent money, noting that $20 million was used for rural bus service, while Detroit received nothing for the same service.

Mayoralty

In 1973, Coleman Young decided to run for mayor of Detroit. A major issue in his campaign was the unfair treatment of Black residents by the police. By 1972, nearly half of Detroit’s population was Black, but most police officers were white. Young told Police Commissioner John Nichols that the STRESS unit, a police group created to stop crime, was causing serious problems. STRESS officers were accused of killing 22 people and arresting hundreds without reason during its 2 and a half years of operation. Young said, “STRESS is an execution squad rather than an enforcement squad. As mayor, I will get rid of STRESS.” The police supported Nichols, who was also running for mayor.

Young had an advantage over Nichols because more Black people lived in Detroit, and Young had experience in local, state, and national politics. Nichols used fears about Black crime to help his campaign. Nichols represented a trend of stronger police power in cities after riots, which Young believed needed to be stopped. Neither candidate openly talked about race, but Young later said, “the race was about race.” Both knew about the city’s racial tensions but tried to appeal to all groups.

In November 1973, Young won the mayoral election by a small margin, becoming Detroit’s first Black mayor. His victory marked a major change in the city’s racial and political history. In his first speech as mayor, Young said, “we can no longer afford the luxury of hatred and racial division. What is good for one group is good for all.” He knew the challenges of leading a city with deep racial divides.

Young served as mayor from 1974 to 1994. He won re-election in 1977, 1981, 1985, and 1989, with strong support from Black voters. As mayor, Young disbanded the STRESS unit, worked to integrate the police department, and increased patrols in high-crime areas using community policing. By 1993, over half of the police department were Black, up from less than 10% in 1974. These changes helped reduce complaints about police brutality.

Young once said that avoiding a near-riot after a Black teenager was shot was a high point of his first term. He also faced challenges, including a city depression that made it hard to plan for the future. In 1978, Young won his second term and focused on affirmative action to improve racial diversity in city jobs, especially in the police department. He welcomed the NAACP to Detroit, calling it the “Affirmative Action City.”

In 1981, a budget crisis forced Detroit to raise taxes and sell bonds to avoid bankruptcy. Young had to convince voters and workers to accept a wage freeze. Black unemployment remained high at 25%, which he worked to address. During his third term, Young focused on reducing racism between Detroit’s Black population and surrounding white suburbs. He said racism was “at an all-time high” in 1984 and worked to improve cooperation between the city and suburbs to grow the economy.

From 1982 to 1983, Young led the United States Conference of Mayors. During his fourth term, he worked on projects to build 1,800 apartments, half for Black and white residents, to promote economic and racial integration. In his fifth and final term, Young faced criticism after a young Black man, Malice Green, was beaten to death by white officers. This happened months after the Los Angeles riots, which followed the acquittal of officers who beat Rodney King. A newspaper writer said Young’s career was “rocked” by the incident.

Young’s greatest achievement was integrating the police department, which improved race relations. He also managed two major financial crises. During his time as mayor, he supported large construction projects, including the Renaissance Center, Detroit People Mover, and Fox Theater restoration. Detroit’s population dropped by 500,000 during his mayoralty, which Young linked to poor neighborhood conditions.

Personal life

Young married twice and was divorced both times. He had a relationship with Joyce Finley Garrett that lasted twelve years, from 1968 to 1980. He had a son with Annivory Calvert, who worked as an executive assistant director of public works. At first, Young said he was not the child's father, but DNA tests showed he was. He worked as a state senator in Michigan's 1st Senate district and previously served as a state representative in Michigan's 4th District. Young lived in the same district where he worked as mayor and later as a state senator. He was a member of the Prince Hall Freemason organization.

Death

On November 29, 1997, Young passed away due to emphysema. After learning about Young's death, former President Jimmy Carter referred to Young as "one of the greatest mayors our country has ever had."

Republican Michigan Governor John Engler described the former Democratic mayor as "a man who kept his promises and worked with people from all political backgrounds to help Detroit, the city he loved and supported throughout his life."

In December 1997, Young became the first person to lie in state at the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History.

Assessment

Six federal investigations into Young’s administration led to trials and convictions for some of his associates, including Detroit Police Chief and Deputy Chief William L. Hart and Kenneth Weiner. However, Young was not convicted of any crimes.

In 2000, a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request revealed that Young was under FBI surveillance starting in the 1940s due to concerns about his possible connection to communists. This surveillance continued through the 1980s. The Detroit FBI office provided 935 of its 1,357 pages of records, which included business documents and transcripts from wiretaps.

In 2018, Detroit Free Press columnist Bill McGraw stated that claims about Young’s corruption were a “myth.”

During Young’s time as mayor, Detroit did not experience civil disturbances as severe as the race riots in 1863, 1943, or 1967. However, Young was criticized for not reducing crime in the city. In the 1970s and 1980s, several violent gangs controlled the drug trade in Detroit. These gangs included The Errol Flynns (east side), Nasty Flynns (later the NF Bangers), Black Killers, and drug groups from the 1980s such as Young Boys Inc., Pony Down, Best Friends, Black Mafia Family, and the Chambers Brothers.

From 1965 onward, Detroit’s homicide rate increased. In 1974, when Young became mayor, the homicide rate was slightly above 50 per 100,000 residents. By 1977 and 1979, the rate had dropped below 40. However, during the 1980s, the rate rose sharply, reaching 63.5 per 100,000 in 1987. In 1994, when Young left office, the homicide rate was about 54 per 100,000.

Young’s time as mayor overlapped with major social and economic challenges in the United States, including economic recessions, oil shocks, the decline of the automotive industry, and job losses in the Midwest. Many white residents moved to Detroit’s suburbs, a trend that began in the 1950s and grew after the 1967 race riot. This movement continued during Young’s two decades as mayor, as crime and drug problems remained in the city. Supporters of Young said the migration was caused by factors such as resistance to court-ordered desegregation, poor housing conditions, aging industrial plants, and a shrinking automotive industry. During Young’s time as mayor, Detroit lost about one-third of its population.

Economic conditions in Detroit generally stayed the same or worsened during Young’s time in office. Unemployment rose from about 9% in 1971 to 11% in 1993, when Young retired. Economic metrics, such as unemployment, income levels, and city gross domestic product, dropped sharply during recessions, especially in the 1980s and early 1990s. Unemployment reached a high of about 20% in 1982.

Young wrote about the impact of riots in his autobiography. He believed that reforming the police department was one of his greatest achievements. He created programs to increase opportunities for people of all races and established Neighborhood City Halls and Police Mini Stations. Using community policing, Young organized civilian patrols to help reduce fires during Devil’s Night, a yearly event. These patrols continued under later mayors and involved as many as 30,000 citizens in a single year.

A 1993 survey of historians, political scientists, and urban experts, led by Melvin G. Holli of the University of Illinois at Chicago, ranked Young as the 12th-worst mayor among American big-city mayors from 1820 to 1993.

Legacy

• Coleman A. Young is buried at Elmwood Cemetery in Detroit.
• The City-County Building, which holds offices for the City of Detroit and Wayne County, was renamed the Coleman A. Young Municipal Building in 1999.
• Young helped arrange the funding for the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History. A section of the museum is named after him.
• Detroit City Airport, a facility that serves general aviation in Detroit, was renamed Coleman A. Young International Airport in 2003.
• In 1979, Young received the U.S. Senator John Heinz Award for Greatest Public Service by an Elected or Appointed Official. This award is given annually by the Jefferson Awards.
• In 1982, Young received the Adam Clayton Powell Award from the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation.
• On December 6, 2022, the Michigan Legislature passed a resolution to replace the Lewis Cass statue in the National Statuary Hall Collection with a statue of Young.