Former Ambassador Andrew Young celebrates Black History Month, YMCA's impact

The YMCA is wrapping up Black History Month by celebrating with civil rights icon Ambassador Andrew Young.

The Andrew and Walker Young Family YMCA held a party to celebrate 100 years of Black History Month.

"We are celebrating the 100th anniversary of Black History Month, so a momentous occasion, really, bringing to the forefront the history of Black History Month, which was founded at the YMCA in Chicago," said Robert Wright, the associate executive director at the Andrew and Walker Young Family YMCA.

Former Ambassador Andrew Young and his brother, Dr. Walter Young, attended the event at their namesake Y.

Before he was an activist, ambassador, or mayor of Atlanta, Young says he was just another kid at the YMCA.

"We swam, we played basketball on the mud floors of the Mississippi coastline," Young recalled.

He doesn't get around quite like he used to following an injury, but he still swims well and credits his childhood lessons from the Y. 

"I had a fundraiser for this Y, and I bet all my friends I could swim 75 laps in this pool in one hour," Young said. "Hank Aaron pledged $10 a lap and gave the Y 700 and something dollars."

Young is still an active member of the Y.

"You have to keep the mind, body, and spirit together. Well, that's the Y's slogan," he said.

"They love sharing their history, and we love having them here as part of a foundation for our community," said Wright.

Young says the current political landscape makes these kinds of celebrations crucial.

"I think that's making us be more conscious of how we spread Black history, how we teach it," he said.