Former UN Ambassador Andrew Young: Photographs from the past a reminder that ‘freedom is not free’

Civil rights icon Andrew Young issued a blunt warning Tuesday that liberties won during the 20th Century are under threat, but he also said he believes people today have the necessary tools to protect them.

Speaking at the launch of a project to digitize 1.8 million Civil Rights Movement-era photographs in Atlanta, the 93-year-old former U.N. ambassador said that freedom is something that needs to be constantly protected. He said that while the photographs around him captured “dangers, toils, and snares” of the past, they could become a reflection of a modern America where many fail to realize that “freedom is not free.”

“You just look at the picture. Just look at it. It could be Minnesota. It could be Atlanta. It could be Chicago, could be Phoenix, it could be anywhere in America and anywhere on the planet where people don’t realize that freedom is not free,” Young said in response to whether he is seeing any parallels between the past and current times. “It’s something you have to organize to protect, something you have to vote to implement, and something that will really determine your happiness and your success in life.”