CHARLOTTE, N.C. – It was a special night at the Charlotte Convention Center as the second generation of civil rights legends participated in a panel discussion at Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc. Southern Regional Convention. The children of Ambassador Andrew Young, Congressman John Lewis, and CT Vivian inspired and motivated the audience.
Their parents were shoulder to shoulder with Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr during the Civil Rights Movement. They too had a front-row seat to what was happening in America during that time. “I marched in Selma when I was nine,” Ambassador Andrew Young’s Daughter Andrea Young said. “So certainly, at that point the Selma March I remember the importance of marching for voting rights that in a democracy you have to have to vote to be a full citizen.” Young said she came with a message.
The grown children were very candid about their feelings and concerns about the world we live in. WBTV asked what their fathers would think. “I think he would be upset,” John Lewis’ son John Miles-Lewis said. “I don’t think he’d be happy with what’s going on right now.” They all admit it’s time to move forward but say human behavior and prejudices of others get in the way. “The bedrock of what we say we believe in as a nation,” Son of CT Vivian Al Vivian said. “All are entitled to their rights and freedoms, don’t judge people by their appearance. We’re all entitled to rights and freedoms etc. If we apply those things, then we’ll do great but we’re not applying those things, unfortunately.”
Young directs the ACLU in Atlanta, Vivian works in the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion space, and Lewis is working in the movie and film industry and working to open a library in memory of his mother. He says she stood by his father during the Civil Rights Movement. The son doesn’t want people to forget his mother’s contributions. “Because the women of the movement don’t ever get any type of recognition,” Lewis said.
“Vote,” Vivian said. “Vote, vote, vote, vote, and spend your money where you are valued. When you do those things change comes about.”
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