Congressman Parren J. Mitchell

Click here to View the Program of Congressman MitchellThe State of Maryland was still trying to keep African American students out of the University of Maryland, College Park, when Parren J. Mitchell applied to graduate school there in 1950. The University President called his effort to study there inadvisable. But Parren persisted, declining the offer of a special program of study in Baltimore. As a result, he became the first African American student, graduate or ndergraduate at College Park, then still a bastion of whites-only higher education in Maryland.Mr. Mitchell, who died in Baltimore, Maryland on May 28, 2007, at the age of 85, had broken through barriers that excluded generations of Marylands states black students. This achievement was one of many in an illustrious career that took him through a variety of social service and civil rights appointments to the U. S. House of Representatives, where he was the first black Marylander elected to serve eight distinguished terms.Known to many as P J, he had applied to graduate school to study sociology long after the university system and state government as a whole had been forced to concede that blacks had a right to be educated in institutions they were helping to finance.By then, some of the Universitys professional schools, as a result of earlier law suits, had admitted black students. The School of Law had been open to blacks since 1936, when Donald Gaines Murray, was ordered admitted in a case argued by Thurgood Marshall. The University of Maryland cases, including Parrens case, were important early steps on the road to Brown v. Board of Education, the landmark school desegregation and anti-discrimination case.Parren Mitchells resolve in the matter of his graduate education helped define the man. He was establishing his own profile in the battle against Jim Crow already being waged by his brother, Clarence M. Mitchell Jr., the NAACPs chief lobbyist in Washington, by Clarences wife, Juanita Jackson Mitchell, and her mother, Lillie May Jackson, the first lady of civil rights in Maryland for many years. Generations of the Mitchell family would join the fight for civil rights. Slight of build, Parren Mitchell was a fiery and eloquent figure in debate.He was often described as impassioned. He was not reluctant to take on presidents if he found them insufficiently sensitive to the rights of his poor, black constituents. He truly could walk with kings and yet not lose the common touch.PARREN JAMES MITCHELLMr. Mitchell was born on April 29, 1922. His father, Clarence M.Mitchell Sr., was a waiter at the Rennert Hotel in Baltimore. His mother was Elsie Davis Mitchell, a homemaker. Parren became a lifelong member of St. Katherine of Alexandria Episcopal Church.He graduated from Frederick Douglass High School in 1940 and served in the Army in World War II where he was awarded a Purple Heart after being wounded in Italy. After the war, he then returned to Morgan State College from which he graduated.After a series of other assignments, he was named head of the Baltimore antipoverty program in 1965 by Mayor Theodore R. McKeldin. Regarded as one of the most effective administrators of any community action programin the nation, Mr. Mitchells credibility with a wide spectrum of Baltimore residents grew as well. When the city erupted in anger at the assassination of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in 1968, Mr. Mitchell served as an important link between the troubled streets and public officials.He ran for the U. S. Congress in 1968, losing to the incumbent Samuel N. Friedel but doing well enough to attract positive responses in the political community. In 1970, he ran again and won by 38 votes.In Washington, he was a passionate and effective advocate for the poor and disadvantaged. His 16-year tenure in Washington was marked by fearless criticism of economic policies he regarded as harmful to the poor and for championing programs designed to promote minority business enterprise. He was a founding member of the Congressional Black Caucus and one of its chairmen.Congressman Mitchell rose to become the Chairman of the SmallBusiness Committee. He attached to a $4 billion public works bill an amendment that compelled state and local governments seeking federal grants to set aside 10% of the funds to retain minority firms as contractors and subcontractors. This law has produced billions of dollars in contracts to minority businesses and remains in operation.He retired from the Congress in 1986, but stayed active in public life. In that same year, he ran for lieutenant governor of Maryland on a ticket with Stephen Sachs. In recent years, after a series of strokes, he lived in nursing homes, while making periodic appearances at community events. In 2007, Congressman Mitchell was honored by having a United States Post Office in the Baltimore City named for him.In addition to many significant firsts, Parren leaves a legacy of inspirational leadership. Both Kweisi Mfume and Elijah E. Cummings, who followed him to Congress from the 7th Congressional District, have saidrepeatedly that Parren Mitchell inspired them to seek lives in public office.Even twenty years after he left the Congress, Mr. Mitchell is remembered for his courageous and persistent advocacy for justice and for uplifting the disadvantaged.

Tributes

Congressman Parren J. Mitchell

April 29, 1922 - May 28, 2007