 whitney moore young, jr. (july 31, 1921 â march 11, 1971) was an american civil rights leader. he spent most of his career working to end employment discrimination in the united states and turning the national urban league from a relatively passive civil rights organization into one that aggressively worked for equitable access to socioeconomic opportunity for the historically disenfranchised. ==early life and career== young was born in shelby county, kentucky, on july 31, 1921, to educated parents. his father, whitney m. young, sr., was the president of the lincoln institute, and served twice as the president of the kentucky negro educational association. whitney's mother, laura young, was a teacher who served as the first female postmistress in kentucky (second in the united states), being appointed to that position by president franklin d. roosevelt in 1940.{{cite book | url=http://books.google.com/books?id=zb8daaaambaj&pg=pa8&lpg=pa8&dq=laura+young+first+female+postmaster+in+kentucky&source=bl&ots=up7bq9ca8g&sig=ogl6fxwq1r4drqidtt2arvpmkxy&hl=en&
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