1. Parren James Mitchell was an American politician who served as a US Congressman affiliated with the Democratic Party representing the 7th congressional district of Maryland from January 3,1971, to January 3,1987.
16 Facts About Parren Mitchell
1. 2.
Parren Mitchell was the first African American elected to Congress from Maryland.
3.
Parren Mitchell's father, Clarence Maurice Mitchell, was a waiter, and his mother, Elsie Davis Mitchell, was a homemaker.
4.
Parren Mitchell served as an officer in the 92nd Infantry Division during World War II, and was wounded in Italy; he received the Purple Heart.
5.
Parren Mitchell earned his bachelor's degree from Morgan State University, and his master's degree from the University of Maryland, College Park.
6.
In 1950, Parren Mitchell sued the then segregated University of Maryland for admission to the graduate school with support from the Baltimore Branch of the NAACP, and won admission.
7.
Parren Mitchell was the brother of the late Clarence Mitchell Jr.
8.
In 1968, Parren Mitchell challenged nine-term Democratic incumbent Samuel Friedel in the Democratic primary and lost.
9.
Parren Mitchell sought a rematch in 1970, and this time defeated Friedel by only 38 votes.
10.
Parren Mitchell was reelected seven more times from this district, never dropping below 75 percent of the vote.
11.
Parren Mitchell even ran unopposed in 1974 and 1984 and only faced minor-party opposition in 1976 and 1978.
12.
Parren Mitchell was one of the founding members of the Congressional Black Caucus.
13.
Parren Mitchell mentored several dozen young up and coming leaders, several of whom held public office.
14.
Parren Mitchell initiated a congressional investigation into Wedtech where bribes were alleged to have been offered in return for no bid military contracts.
15.
In 1986 Mitchell retired from Congress to run unsuccessfully for Lieutenant Governor of Maryland as the running mate of Attorney General Stephen H Sachs.
16.
Parren Mitchell died on May 28,2007, of pneumonia at Greater Baltimore Medical Center in Towson, Maryland, after being hospitalized for a week.