The Powerbroker: Whitney Young's Fight for Civil Rights

Gr 8 Up—One of the hallmarks of the tumultuous 1960s in our country was the Civil Rights Movement. While street militants and other radicals garnered much of the media's attention, other leaders used more moderate methods to bring change. As director of the National Urban League, Whitney Young joined more moderate individuals such as Martin Luther King, Jr. in seeking equality through shifts in power and influence. This warm review of Young's influence on that movement highlights his contributions to reshaping governmental policies and the mindsets of American businesses. The producers utilize a rich variety of materials, including never-before-seen family photographs, to chronicle Young's development as a leader from his days in the military during World War II through his subsequent emergence as a force in the black community. His relationships with other figures in the movement as well as the perception many blacks held that Young was merely a figurehead of the establishment are presented. Interviews with prominent historians and others who were Young's contemporaries, such as Henry Louis Gates, Jr., Vernon Jordan, and Ossie Davis, put his remarkable contributions into the context of the times and today. The film offers scene selection; English subtitles are optional.—Dwain Thomas, formerly Lake Park High School, Roselle, IL