United States Youth Council
Encyclopedia
The United States Youth Council (USYC) was a nonprofit
coalition of organizations which served youth and young adults in the United States
. It was founded in 1945 by the National Social Welfare Assembly as that organization's youth division, but became independent in the early 1960s. In 1967, The New York Times
revealed that the USYC had received more than 90 percent of its funds from the Central Intelligence Agency
, leading many of the organization's largest members to quit. USYC continued to receive funding from the United States government before disbanding in 1986.
, Camp Fire Girls, 4-H
, American Unitarian Youth, National Catholic Welfare Conference, National Students Assembly, YMCA
and YWCA
.
YAC's structure was staff-driven. It was led by an executive director who was a full-time staff members of NSWA, and most of its funding came from the NSWA as well. International travel was often funded by outside sources, such as the Rockefeller Foundation
. YAC nevertheless maintained a chairman who, under the organization's bylaws, was required to be under the age of 30. The organization also maintained council of representatives from each participating member. As late as 1967, 60 percent of WAY's budget was financed by contributions from the foundation.
(WAY) was formed as a non-communist
alternative to the World Federation of Democratic Youth
. WAY's inaugural convention was in August 1948. Prior to the meeting, the Young Adult Council ejected most of its members with ties to political parties or trade unions. The YAC played a significant role in drafting the WAY constitution and electing its first leaders, and became the U.S. affiliate of WAY.
WAY struggled financially in its early years. YAC provided most of WAY's funding through a grant from the Foundation for Youth and Student Affairs, a front organization
established and funded by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). YAC provided $301,000 to WAY from the foundation. Although WAY was troubled by its dependence on the Americans (and one American donor), the organization had no choice but to accept the money. YAC's executive director, Bernice Bridges, knew that the source of the funds was the U.S. government. But this fact did not appear to concern her or her superiors in NSWA.
In 1963, YAC changed its named to the United States Youth Council.
USYC, too, continued its reliance on CIA money. At the height of its strength in the middle to late 1960s, the U.S. Youth Council had 37 member organizations, including the College Democrats of America, Collegiate Council for the United Nations
, National Federation of Catholic Youth
, National Student Association
, Students for a Democratic Society
, YMCA
, Young Christian Workers
, Young Democrats of America
, Young Republicans
, and the Youth Division of the NAACP. At various times, it worked closely with the International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union
, the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights
and the A. Philip Randolph Institute
.
In 1967, The New York Times revealed that the CIA had supplied 90 percent of the organization's funds, and was surreptitiously controlling its agenda. Presidents and vice-presidents of USYC were aware of the source of the funds: They were given a top-secret security clearance by the CIA and required to sign a 20-year confidentiality agreement to keep the intelligence agency's involvement a secret. The revelations caused a number of the U.S. Youth Council's largest members to withdraw.
USYC's council conducted an investigation which was largely inconclusive. The study found that some officers had clearly signed secrecy agreements, but the council was unable to prove that all presidents and vice-presidents had done so. The National Student Association and the University Christian Movement claimed the study was a whitewash, and withdrew from the USYC. In response, the USYC resolved not to accept any more funding from the Foundation for Youth and Student Affairs.
The loss of government financing nearly bankrupted the USYC. In December 1967, the United States Department of State
stepped in to provide funding to keep the organization afloat. In time, financing was shifted to the United States Information Agency
(USIA), which continued to fund its work openly.
The ongoing revelations of CIA funding led USYC and NSWA to sever their relationship in 1969.
USYC withdrew from WAY in 1976 after several years of tension over policies, programs, funding and anti-American feeling by delegates from under-developed countries. USYC became increasingly conservative and isolated within the American and international youth movement for the remainder of the 1970s and through the 1980s. In some respects, this enabled the organization to continue to receive funding from the Reagan administration.
In 1981, the United Nations
announced that 1985 would be an International Youth Year
(IYY). USYC attempted to take the lead in planning for U.S. participation in the IYY. Competition with a rival body, the U.S. Committee on International Youth Year, led to a congressional
investigation. In 1985, Congress passed the Zorinsky amendment (U.S.C. 1461-1a), which barred programs funded by the USIA from operating domestically or conducting propaganda campaigns against domestic audiences. The law also required the IYY committees to be representative and open to all youth organizations. USYC refused to open the executive positions on its IYY committee to other groups, and American participation in the IYY collapsed.
USIA withdrew its funding for the USYC in 1986, and the organization folded.
There is currently no United States Youth Council in existance, however talks have begun with the United States Department of State
to establish a new body.
Non-profit organization
Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...
coalition of organizations which served youth and young adults in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It was founded in 1945 by the National Social Welfare Assembly as that organization's youth division, but became independent in the early 1960s. In 1967, The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
revealed that the USYC had received more than 90 percent of its funds from the Central Intelligence Agency
Central Intelligence Agency
The Central Intelligence Agency is a civilian intelligence agency of the United States government. It is an executive agency and reports directly to the Director of National Intelligence, responsible for providing national security intelligence assessment to senior United States policymakers...
, leading many of the organization's largest members to quit. USYC continued to receive funding from the United States government before disbanding in 1986.
Founding
The USYC was founded in 1945 by the National Social Welfare Assembly, a coalition of social service agencies. Originally named the "Young Adult Council of the NSWA" (YAC), the organization had 16 members, including American Youth HostelsAmerican Youth Hostels
American Youth Hostels, Inc. is a 501 nonprofit membership organization founded in 1934 by Monroe W. Smith, whose formal name is Hostelling International USA . It is the American member of Hostelling International. It is incorporated in New York.Youth hostels offer inexpensive temporary...
, Camp Fire Girls, 4-H
4-H
4-H in the United States is a youth organization administered by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture of the United States Department of Agriculture , with the mission of "engaging youth to reach their fullest potential while advancing the field of youth development." The name represents...
, American Unitarian Youth, National Catholic Welfare Conference, National Students Assembly, YMCA
YMCA
The Young Men's Christian Association is a worldwide organization of more than 45 million members from 125 national federations affiliated through the World Alliance of YMCAs...
and YWCA
YWCA
The YWCA USA is the United States branch of a women's membership movement that strives to create opportunities for women's growth, leadership and power in order to attain a common vision—to eliminate racism and empower women. The YWCA is a non-profit organization, the first of which was founded in...
.
YAC's structure was staff-driven. It was led by an executive director who was a full-time staff members of NSWA, and most of its funding came from the NSWA as well. International travel was often funded by outside sources, such as the Rockefeller Foundation
Rockefeller Foundation
The Rockefeller Foundation is a prominent philanthropic organization and private foundation based at 420 Fifth Avenue, New York City. The preeminent institution established by the six-generation Rockefeller family, it was founded by John D. Rockefeller , along with his son John D. Rockefeller, Jr...
. YAC nevertheless maintained a chairman who, under the organization's bylaws, was required to be under the age of 30. The organization also maintained council of representatives from each participating member. As late as 1967, 60 percent of WAY's budget was financed by contributions from the foundation.
History
In 1948, the World Assembly of YouthWorld Assembly of Youth
The World Assembly of Youth is the coordinating body of national youth councils and organisations of over one-hundred national youth organizations from around the world. It was founded in 1949 in London, England....
(WAY) was formed as a non-communist
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
alternative to the World Federation of Democratic Youth
World Federation of Democratic Youth
The World Federation of Democratic Youth is a progressive youth organization, recognized by the United Nations as an international youth non-governmental organization. WFDY describes itself as an "anti-imperialist, left-wing" organisation...
. WAY's inaugural convention was in August 1948. Prior to the meeting, the Young Adult Council ejected most of its members with ties to political parties or trade unions. The YAC played a significant role in drafting the WAY constitution and electing its first leaders, and became the U.S. affiliate of WAY.
WAY struggled financially in its early years. YAC provided most of WAY's funding through a grant from the Foundation for Youth and Student Affairs, a front organization
Front organization
A front organization is any entity set up by and controlled by another organization, such as intelligence agencies, organized crime groups, banned organizations, religious or political groups, advocacy groups, or corporations...
established and funded by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). YAC provided $301,000 to WAY from the foundation. Although WAY was troubled by its dependence on the Americans (and one American donor), the organization had no choice but to accept the money. YAC's executive director, Bernice Bridges, knew that the source of the funds was the U.S. government. But this fact did not appear to concern her or her superiors in NSWA.
In 1963, YAC changed its named to the United States Youth Council.
USYC, too, continued its reliance on CIA money. At the height of its strength in the middle to late 1960s, the U.S. Youth Council had 37 member organizations, including the College Democrats of America, Collegiate Council for the United Nations
Model United Nations
Model United Nations is an academic simulation of the United Nations that aims to educate participants about current events, topics in international relations, diplomacy and the United Nations agenda....
, National Federation of Catholic Youth
Catholic Youth Work
The phrase Catholic youth work covers a wide range of activities carried out with young people, usually in the name of the Catholic Church and with the intention of imparting the Catholic faith to them and inviting them to practice and live out the faith in their lives...
, National Student Association
National Student Association
The United States National Student Association, a confederation of American college and university student governments, was founded in 1947 at a conference at the University of Wisconsin. It established its first headquarters in Madison, not far from the U. of Wisconsin campus...
, Students for a Democratic Society
Students for a Democratic Society (1960 organization)
Students for a Democratic Society was a student activist movement in the United States that was one of the main iconic representations of the country's New Left. The organization developed and expanded rapidly in the mid-1960s before dissolving at its last convention in 1969...
, YMCA
YMCA
The Young Men's Christian Association is a worldwide organization of more than 45 million members from 125 national federations affiliated through the World Alliance of YMCAs...
, Young Christian Workers
Young Christian Workers
The Young Christian Workers is an international organization founded by Rev. Joseph Cardijn in Belgium as the Young Trade Unionists; the organization adopted its present name in 1924. Its French acronym, JOC, gave rise to the then widely-used terms Jocism and Jocist...
, Young Democrats of America
Young Democrats of America
The Young Democrats of America , founded in 1932, is the official youth arm of the Democratic Party of the United States, although it severed official ties with the Democratic National Committee following passage of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 and became an independent 527 group...
, Young Republicans
Young Republicans
The Young Republicans is an organization for members of the Republican Party of the United States between the ages of 18 and 40. It has both a national organization and chapters in individual states....
, and the Youth Division of the NAACP. At various times, it worked closely with the International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union
International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union
The International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union was once one of the largest labor unions in the United States, one of the first U.S. unions to have a primarily female membership, and a key player in the labor history of the 1920s and 1930s...
, the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights
Leadership Conference on Civil Rights
The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights , formerly called The Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, is an umbrella group of American civil rights interest groups.-Organizational history:...
and the A. Philip Randolph Institute
A. Philip Randolph Institute
The A. Philip Randolph Institute is an organization for African American trade unionists.-History:Following passage of the Voting Rights Act, APRI was co-founded in 1965 by A. Philip Randolph and Bayard Rustin...
.
In 1967, The New York Times revealed that the CIA had supplied 90 percent of the organization's funds, and was surreptitiously controlling its agenda. Presidents and vice-presidents of USYC were aware of the source of the funds: They were given a top-secret security clearance by the CIA and required to sign a 20-year confidentiality agreement to keep the intelligence agency's involvement a secret. The revelations caused a number of the U.S. Youth Council's largest members to withdraw.
USYC's council conducted an investigation which was largely inconclusive. The study found that some officers had clearly signed secrecy agreements, but the council was unable to prove that all presidents and vice-presidents had done so. The National Student Association and the University Christian Movement claimed the study was a whitewash, and withdrew from the USYC. In response, the USYC resolved not to accept any more funding from the Foundation for Youth and Student Affairs.
The loss of government financing nearly bankrupted the USYC. In December 1967, the United States Department of State
United States Department of State
The United States Department of State , is the United States federal executive department responsible for international relations of the United States, equivalent to the foreign ministries of other countries...
stepped in to provide funding to keep the organization afloat. In time, financing was shifted to the United States Information Agency
United States Information Agency
The United States Information Agency , which existed from 1953 to 1999, was a United States agency devoted to "public diplomacy". In 1999, USIA's broadcasting functions were moved to the newly created Broadcasting Board of Governors, and its exchange and non-broadcasting information functions were...
(USIA), which continued to fund its work openly.
The ongoing revelations of CIA funding led USYC and NSWA to sever their relationship in 1969.
USYC withdrew from WAY in 1976 after several years of tension over policies, programs, funding and anti-American feeling by delegates from under-developed countries. USYC became increasingly conservative and isolated within the American and international youth movement for the remainder of the 1970s and through the 1980s. In some respects, this enabled the organization to continue to receive funding from the Reagan administration.
In 1981, the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
announced that 1985 would be an International Youth Year
International Youth Year
The year 1985 was proclaimed by the United Nations as the International Youth Year, or IYY. It was held to focus attention on issues of concern to and relating to youth. The proclamation was signed on January 1, 1985 by United Nations Secretary General Javier Pérez de Cuéllar.-Events:Throughout the...
(IYY). USYC attempted to take the lead in planning for U.S. participation in the IYY. Competition with a rival body, the U.S. Committee on International Youth Year, led to a congressional
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
investigation. In 1985, Congress passed the Zorinsky amendment (U.S.C. 1461-1a), which barred programs funded by the USIA from operating domestically or conducting propaganda campaigns against domestic audiences. The law also required the IYY committees to be representative and open to all youth organizations. USYC refused to open the executive positions on its IYY committee to other groups, and American participation in the IYY collapsed.
USIA withdrew its funding for the USYC in 1986, and the organization folded.
There is currently no United States Youth Council in existance, however talks have begun with the United States Department of State
United States Department of State
The United States Department of State , is the United States federal executive department responsible for international relations of the United States, equivalent to the foreign ministries of other countries...
to establish a new body.
Notable leaders
- Jed Johnson, Jr.Jed Johnson, Jr.Jed Joseph Johnson, Jr. was a U.S. Representative from Oklahoma, son of Jed Joseph Johnson.Born in Washington, D.C., Johnson attended public schools in Chickasha, Oklahoma, and Friends Seminary in New York City. He served as a congressional page and graduated from the Capitol Page School in...
- president, 1962-1964 - Ronald E. Robinson - president, 1983-1985
- David Ridenour - executive director, 1970s? - Youth President 2009-Present