As an ambassador, congressman, mayor, and civil rights leader, Andrew J. Young has created a legacy of leading the fight for the human and civil rights of people nationally and globally, providing leadership in pursuit of social justice, and creating opportunity and prosperity among those who are underserved. He grew up with a drive to serve, first in the Peace Corps. and then as a pastor in rural Alabama. Young was a civil rights activist who joined the South Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) in 1960 and became its executive director in 1964. He worked closely with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and played a crucial role in the negotiations, planning, and execution of strategies that grounded the civil rights movement. Young served as a Georgia congressman and then mayor of Atlanta, only the second Black mayor in its history (after another Morehouse graduate, Maynard Jackson), and ushered in unprecedented economic growth in the city. Young helped to land the 1996 Olympics and served as its co-chair. Young served as ambassador to the U.N. from 1977 to 1979. He led with moral clarity and was a champion for the under-served all over the world. Today, Ambassador Young continues to build his legacy as a servant leader in the world through the Andrew J. Young Foundation which supports education, health, and leadership development in the U.S., Africa, and the Caribbean.

The Andrew Young Center for Global Leadership seeks to honor and extend the legacy of Ambassador Young by addressing social challenges in our community and nation and by creating educational experiences that prepare Black men for lives of leadership and service. The primary goals of the Andrew Young Center for Global Leadership are to study and advance social justice solutions that have an immediate and long-term impact on the community and nation, and to develop the leaders of the future through programming that develops ethical leaders with the skills and capacities to address global challenges.

The Andrew Young Center for Global Leadership is comprised of three interdependent institutes and an academic program designed to provide leadership in the examination and generation of solutions for global challenges, the study of social justice-based leadership, social justice activism training and the development of social change agents, as well as co-curricular experiences designed to prepare students for lives as global citizens and leaders.

Major programs of the Center include the Leadership Studies Program, an academic program offering a minor; international education programming, including study abroad and internationalization of the Morehouse College curriculum; community education and organizing through community mini-grants and partnerships as well as a social justice podcast; social justice-focused scholars’ programs designed to develop change agents and leaders; the Morehouse Higher Education in Prisons Program which provides college courses to incarcerated students; and student and faculty research on social justice issues.

The Leadership Center at Morehouse College (LCMC) was the brainchild of Dr. Walter Massey, ninth President of Morehouse (1995-2007). In 1995, Coca-Cola provided an initial four-year planning grant that focused on establishing a Leadership Center, including a Leadership Lecture Series, a Pre-College Leadership Program, and pre-construction activities for a physical facility. Under President Massey, Dr. Willis Sheftall, then Senior Vice President of Academic Affairs, and a sub-committee of faculty and alumni was convened “to investigate the feasibility of adding an academic, interdisciplinary leadership component to the College curriculum.” The Leadership Center at Morehouse College was founded in 1997. By 1999, the LCMC created a 5-year strategic plan. That same year, one-half of the anticipated $12M was secured for what is now the Massey Leadership Building.

In 2000, Coca-Cola and Bank of America donated additional funding to endow a Leadership Lecture Series. Dr. Walter Fluker served as the endowed Coca-Cola chair of Leadership Studies from 1998 to 2010. In 2001, the Leadership Center proposed the addition of leadership courses to the core curriculum and “the creation of an interdisciplinary leadership studies minor” (Fluker, White). The 2001 proposal, approved by the faculty in 2002, specified that the “leadership studies minor will be housed within the LCMC.” The rationale provided was that the curriculum for the minor would “directly relate to the LCMC-wide goals.” The 1999 strategic plan claimed that “community [or, elsewhere in the document, “the Beloved Community Ideal”] provides the organizing framework for all the Center’s action plans.”

From the outset, the curriculum developed under the auspices of the Leadership Center was anchored in “the Morehouse Tradition of Ethical Leadership.” The LCMC aimed to facilitate “the intellectual and ethical development of individuals for service to society” (1999). The pedagogical idea was that work in the classroom needed to be supplemented with experiential learning opportunities, including study abroad. Between 2002 and 2015, 93 students completed the leadership studies minor. In 2002-2010, there were two full-time professors teaching leadership studies courses; from 2010-2015, there was just one full-time professor (viz., Dr. Melvina King). And between 2005 and 2012, more than 100 students were sponsored for international travel (see 2015, King).

In the summer of 2012, the LCMC celebrated its 15th Anniversary. The program was titled “Coca-Cola Pre-College Leadership Program: Creating the Beloved Community.” At that point, ten years ago, Dr. Melvina King was the interim director and assistant professor of Leadership Studies. Scholars-in-residence included Ambassador Young, Andrea Young, Esq., Preston King, Carter Savage, and Drew Smith. The anniversary program focused largely on the 34 Coca-Cola Pre-College students. Dr. Franklin gave an address titled “Renaissance Men.” The Leadership Center at Morehouse College and the Andrew Young Center for International Affairs were combined into a single Center, the Andrew Young Center for Global Leadership, in 2017.

In the spring 2018 President David A. Thomas approved a strategic re-investment in and focus on positioning the Andrew Young Center for the future. Dr. Jann Adams was charged with re-envisioning the Center to reflect the intent of its early leaders, Dr. Walter Massey and Dr. Walter Fluker, and to build infrastructure to support students, faculty, and community in ethical and social justice-focused curricular and co-curricular leadership development activities and community engagement. With the support of Ambassador Young, an internal advisory board composed of Morehouse College faculty and staff began the work of re-designing the Center. This internal advisory board continues its work with Dr. J.K. Haynes serving as the chair. Since the reconfiguration of the Center in 2018, the AYCGL is comprised of three interdependent Institutes and an academic program: the Institute for Research, Civic Engagement, and Policy (IRCEP); the Institute for Social Justice Inquiry and Praxis (ISJIP); the Institute for International and Experiential Education (IIEE); and the Leadership Studies Program (LSP). Dr. Jann Adams was appointed as lead director of the AYCGL in 2018 and also directs the work of the IIEE. Dr. David Wall Rice served as the inaugural director of the ISJIP, which is now directed by Dr. Sinead Younge. Dr. Kipton Jensen directs the LSP. In the Spring of 2020, the faculty approved a revised curriculum for a 17-credit hour minor in Leadership Studies. Ms. Maraina Montgomery serves as the director of International Education in the IIEE and oversees Study Abroad Programs. AYCGL scholars-in-residence are Ambassador Andrew Young, Andrea Young, Esq., and Dr. Preston King. The Center’s diplomats-in-residence include Ms. Penelope Thomas (USAID Development Diplomat) and Mr. Saul Hernandez (Department of State). In 2020/2021, Dr. Robert Franklin was the Coca-Cola Endowed Presidential Fellow.

The AYCGL is home to numerous programs and initiatives, including the Student Justice Health Initiative, Higher Education in Prisons Program, study abroad, the More Conversations social justice podcast, and the Oprah Winfrey, SMASH, and Social Justice Scholars Programs.