He and Henry Lee De Forest, the president of Talladega College, started a campaign to help improve education for the African American community.

Many people like, Antonio F Holland believe that his mother and stepfather, Frank Young helped shape him into the strong figure that he was.

[3] After enrolling in a small school which was operated by a white baptist minister in Tuscaloosa, Young attended Stillman College for three months.

Once he decided that his passion was to teach, he enrolled in Oberlin College where he obtained a bachelor’s and master's degree.

Young was forced to resign as president during the governorship of Cary A. Hardee, who wanted to abolish the college's liberal arts program and convert it to a purely vocational school.

In response, students at the school staged a violent strike that burned down multiple campus buildings.