Clarence M. Mitchell, Jr
Clarence M. Mitchell, Jr. was a pivotal figure in the American civil rights movement, known for his behind-the-scenes advocacy and legislative achievements. Born in 1911 in a diverse neighborhood of Baltimore, Maryland, he grew up in a struggling family that instilled in him the values of education and racial pride. After excelling academically and graduating from Lincoln University, Mitchell's career began in journalism, where he became profoundly affected by the injustices he witnessed, such as lynching and racial discrimination. This spurred him to dedicate his life to civil rights activism.
Mitchell's significant contributions began when he joined the National Urban League and later the NAACP, where he served as labor director and eventually as the director of the Washington office. He played a crucial role in lobbying for landmark civil rights legislation, including the Civil Rights Acts of 1957 and 1964, the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and the Fair Housing Act of 1968. Known for his direct approach and political acumen, he earned the nickname "101st Senator" for his influential presence in Congress. Despite retiring with little recognition, his legacy was honored posthumously, including the naming of a Baltimore courthouse in his memory and receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1980. Mitchell's quiet yet impactful work highlights the importance of mediation and collaboration in achieving social justice.
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Subject Terms
Clarence M. Mitchell, Jr.
Activist
- Born: March 8, 1911
- Birthplace: Baltimore, Maryland
- Died: March 18, 1984
- Place of death: Baltimore, Maryland
In a long career of public service, Mitchell most distinguished himself as the chief Washington lobbyist for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and, in that capacity, helping to shepherd through Congress the historic civil rights legislation of the mid-twentieth century.
Early Life
Clarence Maurice Mitchell, Jr., was the oldest of six children born in a poor neighborhood of Baltimore, Maryland, that was richly diverse in its ethnic makeup. He grew up in a large family that struggled to make ends meet—his father worked as a waiter at a downtown hotel, while his mother took in laundry. Mitchell worked at restaurants and did other odd jobs from an early age. From his family’s Christian faith, Mitchell learned self-esteem and pride in his racial identity. Living in a southern city amid Jim Crow segregation, however, Mitchell also learned early how to box to defend himself should he be challenged.
Mitchell’s mother, herself illiterate, taught her son to value education. Mitchell excelled in the classroom. After graduating from high school in 1928, he enrolled at Lincoln University, the nation’s oldest black university, to study medicine. Although he did well in his science classes, he joined the debate team and there grew to love its dynamic and the rigors and discipline of persuasion. When he graduated in 1931, uncertain about committing the time and resources to attend medical school, he returned to Baltimore and joined the staff of the black newspaper The Baltimore Afro-American.
Life’s Work
As a staff reporter in 1933, Mitchell witnessed a white mob set fire to the body of a lynched black man. That experience, along with covering the infamous trial of nine black youths charged with raping two white women in Scottsboro, Alabama, changed Mitchell dramatically. He decided to work for civil rights. On his own initiative, he went to Washington to testify before a congressional subcommittee that was considering an antilynching bill. Determined now to work to reverse decades of routine discrimination against African Americans, Mitchell in 1937 joined the Urban League, which was particularly involved in issues of black employment. At the height of the Depression, unemployment had devastated the African American community because, in addition to the national economic catastrophe, African Americans routinely faced hiring biases. In Washington’s corridors of power, Mitchell quickly earned a reputation for his blunt directness. Four years later, he accepted a position on the National Full Employment and Practices Commission. On the strength of that experience, Mitchell was named labor director for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) in 1945. In 1950, he was named director of the NAACP’s Washington office. Over the next several years, he completed a law degree from the University of Maryland.
For nearly three decades, Mitchell served as the NAACP’s chief lobbyist, tirelessly engaging politicians of both parties—members of Congress and presidents—in his unstinting efforts to secure civil rights legislation designed to end more than a century of legalized segregation. His first achievement was passage of the 1957 Civil Rights Act, which sought to monitor the registration of black voters for irregularities (at the time, fewer than 20 percent of African Americans were registered to vote). Over the next decade, Mitchell helped shepherd through Congress the most important civil rights legislation since Reconstruction: the 1960 Civil Rights Act, the 1964 Civil Rights Act, the 1965 Voting Rights Act, and the 1968 Fair Housing Act. Working behind the scenes, Mitchell came to understand the legislative processes and, as he maintained his presence across both Democratic and Republican eras, came to be known as a facile and skillful moderator whose unflinching style earned him the respect of those in Congress. The Washington press corps dubbed him the “101st Senator.” In 1969, he was awarded the prestigious Spingarn Medal, given annually by the NAACP to recognize the outstanding achievement of a prominent African American.
Mitchell retired with little fanfare in 1978, although in 1980, President Jimmy Carter awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Mitchell maintained a limited public profile through occasional work as an attorney and through a Sunday commentary column he wrote for The Baltimore Sun. When he died in March, 1984, he was virtually penniless, his contributions to the Civil Rights movement largely forgotten. The next year, however, the city of Baltimore renamed its courthouse in Mitchell’s honor.
Significance
Mitchell did his most important work quietly in Washington’s backrooms, never seeking media attention or celebrity, and as a result, his contributions have been long overlooked. However, his influence and political skill were clear: He was able to work with both political parties; presidents across four decades sought his counsel; and legislation he was charged to direct through the hazardous processes of congressional approval was successfully enacted. At a time when strident dogmatism commanded headlines, the quiet work of mediators such as Mitchell secured passage of landmark legislation of the civil rights era.
Bibliography
Loevy, Robert D., ed. The Civil Rights Act of 1964: The Passage of the Law That Ended Racial Segregation. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1997. A collection of essays about the landmark 1964 act that Mitchell helped shepherd through Congress. Provides a clear picture of the political negotiations that passage required.
Pohlmann, Marcus D., and Linda Vallar Whisenhunt. Student’s Guide to Landmark Congressional Laws on Civil Rights. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 2002. Helpful overview of the twenty years of civil rights legislation that defined Mitchell’s achievement.
Watson, Denton L. Lion in the Lobby: Clarence Mitchell, Jr.’s Struggle for the Passage of the Civil Rights Laws. Lanham, Md.: University Press of America, 2002. Passionate defense of Mitchell’s place in the civil rights era (written under the auspices of the NAACP) that focuses on the political environment within which Mitchell worked.