In a recent episode of “Influencers with Andy Serwer”, Former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations and Former Atlanta Mayor Andrew Young discussed his relationship with the late Martin Luther King Jr., and what it was like to be at the center of the civil rights movement in the '50s and '60s.

Video Transcript

ANDY SERWER: You have worked with so many remarkable Americans, remarkable people from around the world, but probably none more so than Martin Luther King. And I have to ask you what he was like, what it was like working with Dr. King.

ANDREW YOUNG: Well, you have to remember, when I met him, he was 26, and I was 23, 24. And he was just a really easygoing, humble, lot of fun, cracked a lot of jokes, always picking on people in a very loving, friendly way. He had a way of teasing you by reminding you of your faults and your weaknesses. And he was also a comedian. I mean, he loved to tell stories, and mostly preacher stories, making fun of preachers and people in his own profession.

But he grew up in Atlanta on Auburn Avenue, literally. Auburn Avenue, in his childhood, had everything. It had all of the churches, all of the prostitution, all of the gambling, all of those pool halls, the YMCA. And so he was really comfortable with all kinds of people. And he grew up spending a lot of time in the YMCA.

And so nobody ever thought of him as a good athlete. But even though he was just 5' 7", he was a good basketball player because he was very quick and he could shoot with either hand. But he grew up in the Y. He could-- and you-- the YMCA, in those days, had pool tables and ping pong tables. So he could shoot pool, and he could play table tennis.

And he was just an all-around good guy. And he got along with everybody. One of his best friends was a kid that I don't know how old he was when he met him, but he found him looking for food in a garbage can. And he stopped him from eating out of the garbage can and took him home to his house for lunch.