Ambassador Young Fellows Program

The Ambassador Young Fellows Program is an educational fellowship program based in the United States that provides undergraduate students with instruction in civil rights history, nonviolent leadership, and civic engagement. Established in 2025, the program is administered through Anderson University in South Carolina and operates in collaboration with the Andrew Young Foundation.

Overview

The Ambassador Young Fellows Program is a week-long, in-person fellowship for undergraduate students from historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) and other higher education institutions in the United States. The program combines academic instruction, facilitated discussion, and community service activities.

Program activities include lectures on civil rights history, group-based service projects, and experiential learning components. The fellowship also includes organized travel to Atlanta, Georgia, where participants visit sites associated with the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The program recruits students nationally and is hosted annually in Anderson, South Carolina.

History

The program was developed with the endorsement of Andrew Young, former United States Ambassador to the United Nations, and in collaboration with the Andrew Young Foundation.

Program components

The fellowship curriculum is organized around six thematic principles associated with the leadership and public philosophy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.: love, conscience, freedom, justice, perseverance, and hope. These themes are addressed through lectures, structured discussions, and applied learning activities.