AP News, June 6th, 2007
Former Congressman Parren J. Mitchell, the founder of the Congressional Black Caucus and a champion of civil rights, left behind two sprawling families _ his relatives, and those who carried on his legacy.
Both of them _ the relatives on the right side of the aisle, the politicians on the left _ packed St. James' Episcopal Church on Tuesday to remember Maryland's first black congressman, who died May 28 at age 85.
"With the passing of Parren Mitchell, our nation has lost one of its most passionate champions of justice and equality," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said.
The service, nearly four hours long, including rousing tributes to Mitchell's advocacy for the economically disadvantaged.
Speakers included Maryland Sens. Barbara Mikulski and Ben Cardin; Gov. Martin O'Malley; Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich; Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon; and former Congressman and NAACP president Kweisi Mfume, who took over Mitchell's seat in 1987.
Most mentioned Mitchell's work on behalf of minority businesses. He fought for legislation requiring local governments to set aside 10 percent of federal grants to hire minority contractors, and he led the House Small Business Committee.
"He wanted people in the minority community not just to get jobs, but to create jobs," Pelosi said.
Mitchell was part of a family dubbed the "black Kennedys" for their prominence in politics and civil rights.
His brother, Clarence M. Mitchell Jr., helped shepherd the major civil rights legislation of the late 1950s and 1960s as the NAACP's principal lobbyist, and was known as the 101st senator. Clarence Mitchell's wife, Juanita Jackson Mitchell, was the longtime head and legal counsel of the Maryland NAACP.
Born in 1922, Parren Mitchell was wounded in Italy during World War II and awarded a Purple Heart. After the war, he graduated from Morgan State College (now Morgan State University) and, after a successful lawsuit, became the first black student to enroll in graduate courses at the University of Maryland, College Park, where he earned a master's degree.
He unsuccessfully ran for Congress in 1968, then tried again in 1970 and narrowly defeated Samuel N. Friedel in the Democratic primary. He served eight terms before stepping down in 1986.
"Whenever people tell me their votes don't count, I tell them Parren Mitchell got elected by 38 votes," former Sen. Paul Sarbanes said.
Clarence Mitchell Jr.'s work in Washington often kept him away from his family, and Parren Mitchell became a surrogate father to many of his nieces and nephews, said one of them, former state senator Clarence M. Mitchell III.
"My fondest memory is him teaching me how to drive," Clarence Mitchell III said. "When my father couldn't be there, Parren was here for us."
Rep. Elijah Cummings, who has represented Mitchell's old district since 1996, noted that the congressman practically provided his own epitaph _ the rhyming verse, attributed to Benjamin Mays, that he often used to end speeches.
"I only have a minute _ 60 seconds in it," Mitchell would say. "Forced upon me I did not choose it, but I know that I must use it. Suffer if I lose it, give account if I abuse it. Only a tiny little minute, but eternity is in it."
