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He spent most of his career working to end employment discrimination in the South and turning the National Urban League from a relatively passive civil rights organization into one that aggressively fought for justice.

During World War II, Young was assigned to a road construction crew of black soldiers supervised by Southern white officers. After just three weeks, he was promoted from private to first sergeant, creating hostility on both sides. The situation propelled him into a career in race relations. A few years later, Young became president of the Urban League's Omaha, Nebraska, branch and helped get black workers into jobs previously reserved for whites. In the process, he more than tripled the organization's paid membership.

In his next position as dean of social work at Atlanta University, Young supported alumni in their boycott of the Georgia Conference of Social Welfare , which had a poor record of placing African Americans in good jobs.

At the same time, he joined the NAACP and rose to become state president. At age 40, Young became president of the National Urban League, and within four years had expanded the organization from 38 employees to 1600 employees and from an annual budget of $325,000 to one of $6,100,000. He was president of the National Urban League from 1961 until his accidental death in 1971. During his ten-year tenure at the League, he initiated programs like "Street Academy," an alternative education system to prepare high school dropouts for college, and "New Thrust," an effort to help local black leaders identify and solve community problems. Young also pushed for federal aid to cities.

In 1968, President Johnson honored Young with the highest civilian award, the Medal of Freedom. Young greatly expanded the League and made the league a champion of the American civil rights movement, calling for a domestic " Marshall PlanThe Marshall Plan known officially following its enactment as the European Recovery Program (ERP), was the main plan of the United States for the reconstruction of Europe following World War II. The initiative was named for United States Secretary of Stat". Lyndon B. JohnsonLyndon Baines Johnson ( August 27, 1908 January 22, 1973), often referred to as LBJ was an American politician. After serving a long career in U. legislatures, Johnson became the Vice President under John F. Kennedy ( 1961 1963) and later ascended to the supported Young's civil rights plans, but they fell out with each other over the Vietnam WarThe Vietnam War was a war fought between 1957 and 1975 on the ground in South Vietnam and bordering areas of Cambodia and Laos See Secret War) and in bombing runs ( Rolling Thunder) over North Vietnam. See also the timeline of the Vietnam War. Fighting on.