By Congressman Kweisi Mfume
On the 18th anniversary of his passing, several hundred Marylanders gathered at the Pip Moyer Recreation Center in Annapolis to witness the dedication of a memorial honoring the late, great, trailblazing statesman Parren James Mitchell.
Parren Mitchell, my political mentor and predecessor in representing Maryland’s 7th Congressional District on Capitol Hill, was a native son of Baltimore whose courage and leadership opened doors that many of us now walk through.
Parren Mitchell had the heart of a lion—a bravery that was forged in the crucible of the Second World War. He was serving in the U.S. Army’s 92nd Infantry Division when he was wounded in battle in Italy. Parren returned home with a Purple Heart medal of valor and a steadfast resolve to ensure that the sacrifices of his brothers in arms would not be in vain.
After the war, Parren journeyed back to Baltimore and enrolled at Morgan State University. There, he became an outspoken activist protesting the segregation of Baltimore’s theaters and marching in support of equal pay and equal facilities for Black teachers.
After graduating from Morgan, Parren sued the then-segregated University of Maryland and became the first African-American graduate student in the school’s history.
After returning to Morgan as a professor and serving in various local organizations for two decades, Parren turned his sights to politics. In 1970, he defeated eight-term Congressman Samuel Friedel in the 7th District Democratic primary by only 38 votes. Mr. Mitchell then became the first African American to represent Maryland in the United States Congress, where he would go on to serve for 16 years.
In Congress, he was a founding member of the Congressional Black Caucus, a champion of minority businesses, and a fierce advocate for working people everywhere.
I first met Parren on a street corner in Baltimore when I was 19 years old—at a time when I felt hopeless over the plight of Black people. As a young, trash-talking street leader, I tried to bully him—but, surprisingly, he appeared to embrace my challenge.
Little did I know that this chance meeting would alter my life.
Parren made me reflect on my dueling identities, one that was streetwise and one that was grounded in the values of which I was raised. He also opened my eyes to the fact that I had no grounds to talk about the problems our neighborhoods faced until I was ready to become part of the solution, and not be part of the problem itself.
With these thoughts racing inside me, I reached back out to Parren and ultimately became a volunteer in his campaign headquarters.
Looking back, what should have been a petty clash turned out to be my first interaction with my first political mentor, and someone I came to regard as a second father. With this new memorial in Annapolis, I am glad that the people of Maryland will have the special opportunity to reflect on the meaning of his life and deeds of service for decades to come.