HistorianSpeaks emblemHistorianSpeaksSubscribe

Whitney Young Jr., National Urban League

Whitney Young (1921-1971)
Whitney Young (1921-1971)

Whitney Young Jr (Jul 31, 1921 - Mar 11, 1971). Civil rights leader who was trained as a social worker. He spent most of his career working to end employment discrimination in the U.S. and turning the National Urban League from a relatively passive civil rights organization into one that aggressively worked for equitable access to socioeconomic opportunity for the historically disenfranchised. Young was influential in the U.S. federal government's War on Poverty in the 1960s

#WhitneyYoung #NationalUrbanLeague #SocialWork

Share:
Cite this blog:
"Whitney Young Jr., National Urban League ." Historianspeaks, July 31, 2026. https://historianspeaks.org/blog/whitney-young-jr-national-urban-league.

Ask the Historian

Have a question about this story, or an idea for a future post? Send it here.

Stay Current

Join our mailing list

One dispatch a week: a new essay, a podcast episode, and something from the archive worth a second look.