Coleman Young and Detroit Politics

Back in print, the definitive biography of a powerful and fascinating political figure.

Coleman Young (1918-1997) was a Tuskegee Airman and the first Black mayor of Detroit, elected in 1973. Re-elected four times, he completed his final term in 1994. Young was a savvy, colorful, and convincing politician who integrated the police department and combatted the over-policing of Black people in the city. Young pushed for the revitalization of downtown, and he pioneered one of the nation's first major urban agriculture initiatives. He is revered by his constituents to this day, though he found fierce opponents within the predominantly white suburbs. Combining a biographical account of this powerful and fascinating political figure with in-depth political analysis, Wilbur C. Rich outlines the basic strategy underlying Young's approach to policymaking and traces the economic changes in the city before and after Young's rise to power. Rich examines Young's role in three key policy areas: affirmative action, economic redevelopment, and the city's fiscal crises.