Editing Coleman Young (section)

=== Second mayoral term: 1978–1982 ===
In 1978, Mayor Young won his second term as mayor and planned to execute many campaign promises unfulfilled from his first term. At the forefront of his agenda, Young wanted to ensure affirmative action initiatives in order to positively transform the racial makeup of city departments, particularly the police department.<ref name=":0" /> Young addressed the issue of Affirmative Action head on, and welcomed the NAACP to Detroit with the words, "welcome to Detroit, the Affirmative Action City – I can’t think of any recent issue that is more important to the future of minorities and women and the whole American people than the issue of affirmative action" (Young, 1978).<ref name=":0" />

His efforts for affirmative action were stalled in 1981, when a budget crisis forced Detroit voters to approve an income tax hike and city officials to sell $125 million in emergency bonds.<ref name=":0" /> Young had to convince Detroit voters to trust his plans to save the city from bankruptcy, and he had to convince state legislature and municipal workers to accept a two-year wage freeze. In addition, Black unemployment in the city remained at 25 percent – all issues that Young attempted to tackle during his third term.