Most resolutions that pass through the Kentucky General Assembly are just a page long, as State Representative Jennifer Decker tells it.

But when Decker needed to enumerate the achievements of Whitney M. Young Jr. for a resolution naming a stretch of US 60 in his honor, she found that there was no way to create a remotely complete list of what the Civil Rights icon had done in his life and keep it that short.

“It’s four pages long, and that was cut short,” Decker said. “Four pages it took just to highlight what he had done in his life.”

Now, that four-page resolution will be on display at the museum in the house where Young was born near Whitney M. Young Job Corps Center, where it will become part of a museum celebrating Young’s life. Both Whitney M. Young Job Corps Center and the museum are also stops along the newly renamed Whitney M. Young Memorial Highway – celebrating the monumental man for which our center is named.

Young was a Civil Rights leader who led the National Urban League at the height of the Civil Rights movement, fighting for equality alongside figures such as Martin Luther King Jr. He served as an unofficial advisor to three presidents, yet refused when offered a place in their cabinets. His ideas were instrumental to Lyndon B. Johnson’s War on Poverty.

Young died at 49 in Lagos, Nigeria, leaving behind a towering legacy of advocacy and activism.

“What the sign does for everyone who comes up and down this road from now on, it forces them to read and see the name,” said Deputy Attorney General J. Michael Brown, who spoke on behalf of Governor Andy Beshear at the Whitney M. Young Memorial Highway’s dedication. “Then hopefully, a few will then try to find out some more about it. That’s really what the value is.”

Brown further elaborated that it took him a while to discover how close to home this Civil Rights titan was – a sentiment  echoed by the event’s other speakers.

“Whitney Young has been recognized around the world, for his accomplishments, for being a statesman, and finally he’s being recognized in his hometown,” said Marshall Bradley Jr., president of the Lincoln Foundation. “He is a son of Kentucky, but more importantly, he’s a product of Shelby County.”

Also on-hand was Young’s nephew, Herman Dubose Jr., who painted a humble picture of a monumental man.

“Because he was so busy and I was so young, I only had a few chances to meet him,” Dubose said. “He was this great person for everyone else, and he was just Uncle Whitney. He wasn’t anything special to me…He was a very kind, nice person to me.”

But Dubose did note that Young would be proud of this memorial.

“I think this is an honor that’s definitely due his name and due him. It’s more than just changing of a sign. It’s giving him the due reverence for the life’s work that he put forth,” Dubose said. “Having this name proves that people respect what he did and they honored what he did…I feel fortunate that this is my third dedication for him, and I think this is probably the greatest one that he would be most proud of.”