About Coleman Young
Coleman Alexander Young (May 24, 1918 – November 29, 1997) was an American politician who served as the 66th mayor of Detroit, Michigan from 1974 until 1994. A member of the Democratic Party, Young was the first African-American mayor of Detroit, and has been described as the "single most influential person in Detroit's modern history." Young had emerged from the far-left element in Detroit, but became an advocate for business interests after his election as mayor. He called an ideological truce and gained widespread support from the city's business leaders. The new mayor energetically promoted downtown redevelopment with major projects like the Joe Louis Arena and the Renaissance Center. Facing intense manufacturing flight, Young worked to keep major plants in the city, most notably General Motors' Poletown project and Chrysler's Jefferson North assembly. Some opponents said that he pulled money out of the neighborhoods to rehabilitate the downtown business district, but he said "there were no other options." In 1981, Young received the Spingarn Medal for achievement from the NAACP. In November 1973, Young narrowly defeated Nichols for mayor, becoming the first black mayor of Detroit. In his inaugural address, Mayor Young stated that “the first problem that we must face as citizens of this great city, the first fact that we must look squarely in the eye, is that this city has too long been polarized”. Young won re-election by wide margins in 1977, 1981, 1985 and 1989, to serve a total of 20 years as mayor, based largely on black votes. As mayor during his first term, Young promptly disbanded the STRESS unit, began efforts to integrate the police department and increased patrols in high crime neighborhoods utilizing a community policing approach.
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