James A. Young (born November 7, 1955) is an American politician, who was elected mayor of Philadelphia, Mississippi in May 2009. His election was especially noted as he is the first African-American mayor of the city, which was previously best known for the murders of Chaney, Goodman, and Schwerner by members of the Ku Klux Klan in 1964. Young's campaign staff credited Barack Obama's presidential campaign for increasing registration of black and young voters in Philadelphia. Young and his wife Sheryl have one daughter, Shanda (born 1978).