Younge, Samuel Leamon, Jr., 1944-1966

Samuel Leamon Younge Jr. (November 17, 1944 – January 3, 1966) was a civil rights and voting rights activist who was murdered for trying to desegregate a "whites only" restroom.[1] Younge was an enlisted service member in the United States Navy, where he served for two years before being medically discharged.[2][3] Younge was an active member of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) and a leader of the Tuskegee Institute Advancement League.[4][5]

Younge was the first African-American university student to be murdered in the United States due to his actions in support of the Civil Rights Movement.[4][6] Three days after his death, SNCC became the first civil rights organization in the United States to oppose the Vietnam War, partly on the grounds that like Younge, innocent civilians should not face deadly violence.[7]

Early life
Younge was born on November 17, 1944, in Tuskegee, Alabama. Younge served in the United States Navy from 1962 until July 1964, when he was given a medical discharge Younge became involved in the Civil Rights Movement during his first semester at the Tuskegee Institute. Younge was shot in the face (under the left eye) [13] by Marvin Segrest, a 68-year-old white gas station attendant at a Standard Oil station in Tuskegee, Alabama, on January 3, 1966. On January 4, 1966, Segrest was arrested, but released on $20,000 bond.[20] He was indicted for murder in the second degree and tried on December 7.[20] The trial was moved from Macon County, where blacks outnumbered whites by a 2-1 margin, to Lee County.[20] He was found not guilty by an all-white jury the next day.[20] His acquittal sparked outraged protests in Tuskegee.[12][19]