E-mail a friendRev. Andrew Young
airdate April 4, 2005
Andrew Young has been in the forefront of the U.S. civil rights movement. He served three terms in Congress and helped draft the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act. The former two-term mayor of Atlanta was U.N. Ambassador under President Carter and co-chaired the '96 Olympic Games. Young is chairman of the global advisory firm, GoodWorks International, and serves on numerous boards. He is also spokesperson and Advisory Board chair of The Africa Channel TV network.
Rev. Andrew Young
Tavis: I'm pleased to welcome civil rights pioneer Andrew Young to this program. The former U.N. ambassador and Atlanta mayor is the co-chair of Goodworks International and a senior fellow at Georgia State's Andrew Young School of Policy Studies. He joins us tonight from New York City. Mr. Ambassador, nice to have you on the program again, sir.
Andrew Young: Very good to be with you.
Tavis: Glad to have you. You have spent a great deal of time in Africa and, of course, talking about African issues around the globe. I'll come to that in just a second and talk about a new project you've been working on. This Pope visited the continent of Africa, as you know, more than any other pope in history. What do you make of his frequent trips to Africa? And what, in fact, did those trips have to do, if anything, with the number of Catholics in Africa doubling during his tenure?
Young: Well, that's true. I mean, Catholicism...well, really Christianity is doing extremely well. I think Catholicism is doing well. There was an article saying that there were more Anglicans going to church in Nigeria, Uganda, Tanzania and Zimbabwe...each...than went to Easter services in England. I think the same thing could be said about probably more Catholics in Nigeria than there are in Italy...active Catholics. But there are also more Pentecostals in Africa. Christianity...well, religion is very much on the rise. There's also an expansion of Islam. And I think the only thing that worries me is that these two forces not clash and create the kind of violence that they created when they clashed in Europe.
Tavis: There is a Nigerian on the short list, a cardinal who has spent some time working in the Vatican of late, but on the short list as pope, potentially. What do you make of...I mean, obviously, we don't know at this point. I don't want to play politics here, but let me just ask this: not what his chances are, but what signal it might send if they chose, these cardinals, these 117 voting members chose a person to lead the Catholic church who was African or from a third-world country, period?
Young: Well, I would say that my biggest concern is that we have a pope that is concerned about the poor of the world...the least of these, God's children, the people for whom Jesus said we're going to be held accountable in that Judgment Day. And it almost doesn't matter the color. I think that I worry about the popes
Tavis: Mm-hmm. Let me...I should probably have mentioned, and I could have done this earlier and did not. Ambassador Young, among his many titles over his long career, is also an ordained minister. I could have said that earlier, but I say it now for those who are watching who say, "Tavis, you didn't mention he's also an ordained minister," certainly your friends and family down in Atlanta who know that story quite well, that part of your résumé. That said, since we were talking about Africa a moment ago, let me go back to Africa, Mr. Ambassador, because you're part of an exciting project I've been wanting to talk about, and I'm glad you could make time for us today. There's a new television channel about to come on line, a new TV channel on cable about to come on line called the Africa Channel, and you're the chairman of the board for this enterprise. Tell me more right quick about the Africa Channel and why you think it's necessary.
Young: Well, one of the things that we don't know is, we don't know anything about Africa. Most of us still think of Africa either in terms of Tarzan or tragedy. And there's some exciting things happening that I think if the world knew about it... For instance, we might not be in the war we're in now in Iraq if people had understood that the energy resources of West Africa were comparable to those in the Middle East and that simply by partnering with Nigeria and Angola and Cameroon and Congo, Brazzaville that we could have developed an alternative source of energy so we didn't need to go to war about oil with Iraq. We didn't know. They didn't think about that in the State Department. I can remember telling people, "You know, we get more oil from Nigeria than we do from Kuwait." And if we spent half as much money on West Africa and Nigeria or any of the big...any of the countries as we do in Kuwait... Now, I love Kuwait. Kuwait's a great little country. But you can put Kuwait down inside the perimeter in Atlanta. And the money that we've spent protecting and securing Kuwait, while I agree with it and it's important, if we had half that amount of money spent in Africa, we would have our energy resources secured. We might not have people in battle in Iraq, and gasoline might be down around a dollar or less a gallon.
Tavis: Fair enough. I like the sound of that last part most especially, since we have to drive in the streets of L.A., which is a pretty vast place, as you well know. Let me ask you, though, since you're talking about money, as a businessperson...and you got a great business mind. You've been the mayor of Atlanta for a couple of terms. As a businessperson, tell me how one sustains a TV network about a continent like Africa. Can you get the advertising? Can you get the underwriting? Is there the interest to sustain economically a channel about Africa?
Young: Well, we think there is, because we think that the cable networks are going to want to offer this in their packages to their constituents. We're in negotiations with several of the cable networks now. And to be able to add an Africa Channel, that's going to bring top programming from Africa. We've got contracts with enough African...well, for one thing, if you...you've been to Africa many times.
Tavis: Sure.
Young: There's some good television in Africa. There's some things that we would love to see. I remember looking at an African beauty pageant that was sponsored by Anglo Gold. And the fashions that were being developed in Mali...I was fascinated by this, because it's a concept of beauty. Interestingly enough, French designers go down there and steal those designs and reship them. But there is an almost...We hear nothing but horror stories from Africa.
Tavis: Let me...
Young: And there's some good news coming out of almost every country in Africa.
Tavis: Indeed, you're right about that, and I'm glad you're making an effort to demystify what we think about the continent of Africa. Let me ask you right quick before I let you go: The current gentleman who runs the United Nations, Kofi Annan, is from Ghana, obviously from the continent of Africa. Any comment right quick on his recent troubles and travails? He seems like he's gonna make it, but what do you think?
Young: Well, I think Kofi is a good man, but the United Nations really can't run without the full support of the United States. It has not had that. But I should say, too, that this is the anniversary of Martin Luther King's assassination.
Tavis: It is.
Young: And I think that we shouldn't forget the level of progress that we have made around the world. It's no accident that the Berlin Wall came down with people singing "We Shall Overcome." It's no accident that we've had changes in southern Africa that were produced without violence for the most part. It's no accident that we had an agreement between Israel and Egypt under Jimmy Carter's influence and that Panama and the Panama Canal Treaty was worked out, literally with no violence. That...Martin Luther King's legacy is very much alive and with us. And we shouldn't forget in the midst of all of our problems and troubles, how far we've come, because of what he did for us. And I think we still got a long, long way to go.
Tavis: Well, I didn't imagine that any conversation that you and I could have would conclude without Dr. King's name coming up. It never does end until we raise his name, and I'm glad you did, Mr. Ambassador. I'm glad you came on the program.
Young: Thanks a lot. God bless you.
Tavis: All the best to you, sir. Up next on this program, Emmy-winning actress Cynthia Nixon; then a few words about my meeting with the pope. Stay with us.
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