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1907 - 2000

Wayne County Commissioner, Maxcine Young

Maxcine Young was born in June 1, 1907 in Laurens, South Carolina. She attended South Carolina State College.

She entered the political arena in New York City by helping in a drive to allow people of color to drive city buses.[3] It succeeded. In New York, she sang in the Abbsynia Baptist Church choir, which was pastored by Adam Clayton Powell.[3]

Moving to Michigan, she worked as a disk jockey with her own show on Detroit radio station WJLB[4] in 1954, and also as a realtor, and business manager. She worked for Gov. Williams' first campaign in 1948 and helped organize Democratic groups in 13th and 16th Congressional districts.[5]

On November 8, 1960 she was elected to the Michigan House of Representatives in a special election to fill the open seat left by the resignation of Frank D. Williams, D-Detroit.[6] She was elected as a Representative to the 23rd District and served for 4 sessions.[7] In 1966 she was succeeded by Jackie Vaughn III.[8]

"Her tenure as a lawmaker included the implementation of Michigan's 1963 Constitution, and she contributed to the work of reorganizing the structure of Michigan's government. In the 1965-66 legislature, Maxcine Young became one of the first three African-American women appointed to chair standing committees of the Michigan Legislature when she headed the Public Safety Committee."[9] She served as Chairman of the Traffic Safety Commission and helped pass the bill to add photos to driver's licenses.[10]

Young was included in the April 1965 publication of Ebony Magazine's article "States Boast Record Number of Negro Law Makers"[11] The article listed Maxcine Young among 18 Senators and 76 Representatives elected to serve in 24 different states.[11] The article listed Maxcine Young among 18 Senators and 76 Representatives elected to serve in 24 different states, along with other notable figures such as Shirley Chisolm and Coleman A. Young[11].

After leaving the Michigan Legislature, Young was elected and served 8 years as a Wayne County Commissioner in Detroit, Michigan. As a Commissioner, she served as a member and moderator for the Task Force on Aging/Convening Committee.[12]

In 1975, she was among 39 founders of the National Association of Black County Officials (NABCO)[13] and a member a several organizations including: