Civil rights activist Young takes part in the “family reunion” on MLK day
Civil rights activist, politician, diplomat and activist Andrew Jackson Young Jr. will visit Vancouver on January 17th for Martin Luther King Jr. Day. He is presented at the 12th annual breakfast by Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. of iUrban Teen, a nationally recognized not-for-profit based in Vancouver that focuses on providing vocational training for underrepresented teenagers.
At the event, Young will share his firsthand account of the civil rights movement, his thoughts on the ongoing struggle for social justice, and the lessons he has learned as a lifelong activist. He will also sign books.
“I’m very excited to have Andrew Young join us,” said Deena Pierott, founder of iUrban Teen. “At 89 he is one of the last survivors from the MLK era.”
The event will take place from 8:00 am to 10:30 am on January 17th at the Hilton Vancouver Washington, 301 W. Sixth St. Tickets can be purchased online at https://mlkvancouver2022.eventbrite.com. The ticket proceeds will go to the iUrban Teen scholarship fund.
Since the Scholarship Fund was founded in 2016, 20 scholarships totaling $ 31,000 have been awarded to local high school graduates.
Other speakers include Vancouver Mayor Anne McEnerny-Ogle, Vancouver Police Chief James McElvain and Governor Jay Inslee, who will deliver a virtual message. There will be performances, entertainment and more.
Young isn’t the first civil rights icon to be honored at the event. The late Congressman John Lewis was the keynote speaker in 2014. In 2017 it was the late Rev. CT Vivian.
“Vancouver is proud of this event,” said Pierott. “I started this breakfast because I knew we had nothing in Vancouver to support Dr. Celebrate King and his accomplishments. The nice thing is that it’s a community event. Every year it’s like a family reunion – people keep coming back and it grows every year. “
The event comes at an important time for iUrban Teen. The organization recently opened its first learning hub, a stationary operation in downtown Vancouver. iUrban teen programs are now in Washington, Oregon, California, and Texas, but Pierott wanted the organization’s first learning center to be in Vancouver, where it was founded.
“We’ve never had our own room,” said Pierott. “We can’t wait to get our programs off the ground there. Chess clubs, programming camps, writing programs – so many programs. “
Pierott said the January 17th event is about continuing King’s legacy.
“We’re going to talk about the whole civil rights movement,” she said. “It’s going to be incredible.”