Civil Rights Legend Andrew Young Warns Why America Is in the ‘Worse Shape’ of His Lifetime
He survived an era when Black Americans were hosed down in the streets, forced to drink from segregated water fountains and was brutalized just for existing. As a top aide who walked shoulder-to-shoulder with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Andrew Young—now 94 years old—just delivered a chilling warning for 2026: In some ways, America is in the “worse shape” of his lifetime.
This is a man who knows exactly what progress looks like—because he helped build it. In 1977, Andrew Young shattered ceilings when President Jimmy Carter appointed him as the first African American U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, a historic milestone that came just years after he became the first Black congressman elected from Georgia since Reconstruction.
He built his career as a pastor, eventually becoming an early leader in the civil rights movement. His resume is equally as impressive as his vast wisdom, as the 55th mayor of Atlanta served as executive director of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and was a close confidant to Martin Luther King Jr.
So when a civil rights icon of his stature signals that America’s forward momentum has stalled, the world has no choice but to pay attention.
Related: 13 Myths And Truths About The Civil Rights Movement
Before America celebrated its 250th anniversary last week, Young compared nearly a century of struggle to today’s political climate in an interview with “ABC News Live Prime’s” Linsey Davis, confessing how, “We’re in worse shape than we’ve ever been in my lifetime in some ways.”
The staggering admission prompted Davis to clarify, asking, “As somebody who grew up in a segregated South, who knew Bloody Sunday personally, who knew the dogs that were sicced on Black people and the hoses— you think that today, 2026, is the worst this country has ever been?” Without missing a beat, the 94-year-old detailed how the crisis facing America this year isn’t happening in the streets.
“I think my biggest disappointment in this time in my life is that we can’t count on the Supreme Court for anything,” Young said. “The country hasn’t gone to the dogs, it just seems like too many people with doggish mentality got into positions of power.”
While he didn’t explicitly name names or examples, you won’t have to search very far for tangible evidence. The Supreme Court’s blockbuster 6-3 decision in Louisiana v. Callais gutted what remained of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act— the landmark 1965 legislation Young famously fought for on the frontlines from Selma to Montgomery. The Root previously told you the decision cleared the way for states to engage in partisan gerrymandering even when it dilutes Black voting power.
A 2024 ruling of Trump v. United States declared that former presidents possess broad immunity from criminal prosecution for any actions tied to their core constitutional duties in a blockbuster 6-3 ruling, the Associated Press reported. To a civil rights leader who spent his entire life fighting to hold powerful institutions accountable to the people, the historic ruling just handed ex-presidents get-out-of-jail cards.
Despite America’s flaws, Young declared: “I’m still very positive and optimistic about the country.”
