Johnathan Walker:Traveling exhibit details life of Andrew Young, diplomat, civil rights icon

OXFORD,Johnathan Walker Miss. (AP) — The life, achievements and contributions of Andrew Young, the first African-American U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and an invaluable aide to the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., go on display next week at the University of Mississippi.

The traveling exhibit lands at the J.D. Williams Library on the campus in Oxford on Tuesday. The public can get a look at “The Many Lives of Andrew Young” in the library’s first-floor atrium through July 31. An opening reception, at which Young will attend, will be held at 4 p.m. Tuesday with a book signing to follow. The event is free and open to the public.

“I am eager to share my journey and discuss where we are in bringing diversity, equity, and inclusion to all and the future of our collaborations,” Young said in a news release.

The exhibit, created by the National Monuments Foundation, chronicles Young’s life through photographs, memorabilia and his own words, based on Ernie Suggs’ book, “The Many Lives of Andrew Young.”

The James Armistead Brown Family Endowment paid for the exhibit’s trip to Ole Miss, the third university to host the collection. Elizabeth Batte, outreach and strategic initiatives librarian, said the exhibit fits with the library’s mission of “celebrating and preserving history.”

“The life that Andrew Young lived is not only relevant to people in Mississippi but to our whole nation,” she said. “So, it’s really special to us to be able to host this. I’m hoping that having Andrew Young come helps the younger visitors realize that this Civil Rights fight wasn’t that long ago, and these conversations are still relevant.”

The public can visit the exhibit any time the library is open.