President Lohr Attends 90th Birthday Event for Andrew Young '55

All of Atlanta is stopping this week to honor the 90th birthday of former U.N. Ambassador Andrew Young, a 1955 graduate of Hartford International University and a living legend in civil rights.

Along with another renowned alum, Dr. Beverly Daniel Tatum '00, President Joel N. Lohr was in attendance as Ambassador Young delivered a sermon to an invitation-only audience at his home church, First Congregational, in Atlanta. The sermon, along with multifaith prayers and a program of inspiring music billed as “A 90-minute Global Prayer for Peace,” was streamed around the world. To watch the video, click here.

President Lohr remarked after the event, “What an immense privilege it was to sit under Ambassador Young’s preaching, which reminded me again of what our alumni are accomplishing in the world. Andy has lived an incredible life, one that he says was uniquely shaped by his time at Hartford. Even back then, nearly 70 years ago, HIU was deeply international and committed to thoughtful religious dialogue and peacebuilding. As Andy has said in another setting, ‘Hartford provided me with just enough conflict in my life to make me grow, and to make me want to grow … it was what I needed and I was there for three years. That gave me a very, very proper background.’”

Ambassador Young spent years as a close confidante of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., served as a Congressman from Georgia, was appointed the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations by President Jimmy Carter, and spent many years as mayor of Atlanta.

During his sermon, Ambassador Young spoke about a variety of topics, including what is happening in Ukraine. 

"Regardless of what Earth throws at us, we are basically spiritual beings," he said. "Our spirituality is who we are. It's important to remember that as we are surrounded by death and confusion."

He also spoke of growing up during World War II and hearing President Franklin Delano Roosevelt say, "The only thing to fear is fear itself."

"We got through that war with great suffering and great sacrifice," he said. "That war enabled us to bring the world together."

On Thursday, March 10, Ambassador Young, government officials, international guests and celebrities participated in a 90-minute Walk for Peace & Reconciliation from Centennial Olympic Park and ending at the Rodney Cook Sr. Peace Park with the unveiling of an Andrew Young statue. Ambassador Young was instrumental in bringing the Olympics to the city in 1996 and served as co-chair of the games.

On Friday, March 11, a gala with the theme of Peace and Reconciliation will honor Ambassador Young's birthday, coinciding with the opening of the Millennium Gate Museum's exhibition The Many Lives of Andrew Young, along with a celebration of a new book, The Many Lives of Andrew Young by by Ernie Suggs with a foreward by Jimmy Carter. 

On Saturday, March 12, a tribute will take place on Ambassador Young's actual birthday at the Georgia World Congress Center, celebrating "his lifetime of public service and peacemaking."

To learn more about Ambassador Young’s 90th Birthday Celebrations, please visit: https://www.andrewyoung90.com