While researching Detroit for my upcoming walk, I accidentally stumbled upon a small book at the University of Pennsylvania’s Van Pelt Library titled The Quotations of Mayor Coleman A. Young, published by Wayne State University in 2005.
Coleman Young was born in Tuscaloosa, Alabama on May 24,1918. His family moved to Detroit when he was very young settling in the Black Bottom neighborhood on the East Side. After graduating from Eastern High School, he worked at the Ford Motor Co. before being drafted into the Army during WWII. Young served with the Tuskegee Airman, and later was jailed along with other airmen for protesting military segregation.
Growing up I remembered the late Mayor Young as a tall, charismatic leader, who advocated for all Detroiters, but especially Black Detroiters, who had been long ignored by white city leaders. From my home in Massachusetts, I remember Young appearing on television as a bold leader who didn’t take no stuff from the media and other name callers. As one of the first Black elected mayors of a major city (1974 – 1994) in the early 1970s, some whites were personally rude to Coleman and outright opposed his leadership. In addition, he was unfairly held to a different standard then all the previous mayors of the city, and to his record he is Detroit’s longest serving mayor.
So, when I came upon the book of some of his famous quotes and general insights, I reflected, smiled, and laughed at how direct he was in his responses to questions. Here are a few quotes by the former Mayor Coleman Young.
On his philosophy of life: “I’m smiling all the time. That doesn’t mean a god-damned thing except I think people who go around solemn-faced and quoting the Bible are full of shit.”
On handling bias: “Some people say affirmative action is discrimination in reverse. You’re damned right. The only way to handle discrimination is to reverse it.”
On the legacy of Black leaders, such as Coleman Young: “Those of us who are passing off the scene, like Nelson Mandela, like me, like Martin, who is already gone, we’re passing on to you who are coming on the scene, the torch. You should be thrilled with the opportunity that you have to complete the revolution.”
On cussing: “Swearing is an art form. You can express yourself much more directly, much more exactly, much more succinctly, with properly used curse words.”
On Jesse Jackson in 1987: “He doesn’t have any experience. He ain’t never run for anything but his mouth. But he has a good platform.”
On Jesse Jackson in 1988: “I think Jesse is highly qualified. His program is as good as any…But his chances depend on the tolerance – or lack thereof- of the white voters in this country.”
On how he felt after the FBI had bugged his townhouse in 1981: ” I don’t even go over there anymore. That was a nice place but when those motherfuckers tapped that damned place, it’s almost as if it had been violated. I can’t describe to you how mad that made me, so I know what it is when a sonofabitch violates your privacy.
On loyalty: “I think that a cardinal rule in life, and certainly in politics. I read in Gompers, ‘Reward your friends and punish your enemies.’ I think that’s a pretty good political rule.”
On life in Alabama as a child: “It’s kind of dim, but I remember a lot of cars coming through the town there with a bunch of dudes in white sheets doing a lot of yelling, riding on the running boards. I didn’t know what the hell it was, but I remember my mom picked me up and held me, and I remember feeling fear.”
On why his family moved to Detroit: “They ran my father out of Alabama for being an uppity nigger.”
