Young Says Black Progress Would Please, Surprise King

ANDREW YOUNG says Martin Luther King Jr. would be pleased. ``I think he would be very pleased, and probably surprised'' at the progress blacks have made in American politics in recent years, says Mr. Young, the former mayor of Atlanta. Young is battling for the Democratic nomination for governor of Georgia.

Ed Brown, executive director of the Voter Education Project in Atlanta, says Young's campaign presents Georgians with ``a challenge and an opportunity.''

Mr. Brown says Atlanta's white voters have already shown they are willing to support qualified blacks for higher office. But in Georgia's rural areas, ``the jury is still out,'' he says.

Win or lose, Young says Dr. King, who led civil rights efforts in the South 25 years ago, ``would be surprised that we've been able to come this far this fast.'' Young, who once served as a King aide, hopes to become only the second black to be elected governor. The first was L. Douglas Wilder (D) of Virginia in 1989.