[1][2] His father, a coal miner,[3] died when Austin was 11, after which his mother moved with her three sons to Detroit;[2] as a child he worked as a bootblack.

[4] After graduating first in his class from Cass Technical High School, he was awarded an athletics scholarship to Wayne University, but had to leave for financial reasons; working in a shoe store and taking night classes, he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in business administration from the Detroit Institute of Technology in 1937,[1][4] and in 1941 became the first Black certified public accountant in Michigan.

[4] In 1964, he ran for Congress in Michigan's 1st congressional district, but lost to John Conyers in the Democratic Party primary election by 38 votes.

[5] He became the longest-serving Secretary of State in Michigan history,[2][5][11] serving until January 1, 1995, when he lost a re-election campagian bid in 1994 to Republican Candice Miller.

[2][5][11] In 1976 Austin unsuccessfully sought the Democratic nomination for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by retiring Philip Hart.