Clarence M. Mitchell, Jr

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clarence_M._Mitchell,_Jr.

Clarence M. Mitchell, Jr. (March 8, 1911 – March 19, 1984) was a civil rights activist and was the chief lobbyist for the NAACP for nearly 30 years. He also served as a regional director for the organization.

Mitchell, nicknamed "the 101st U.S. Senator", waged a tireless campaign on Capitol Hill, helping to secure passage of civil rights legislation in the 1950s and 1960s: the Civil Rights Act of 1957, the Civil Rights Act of 1960, the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and the Fair Housing Act (Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968).

In 1969, he was awarded the Spingarn Medal by the NAACP for these efforts. Later he faced some criticism in the black community for supporting Daniel Patrick Moynihan (see then U.S. Assistant Secretary of Labor; controversy over the War on Poverty, later a noted U.S. Senator from New York) and defending the State of Israel. On June 9, 1980, he was presented with the "Presidential Medal of Freedom" by 39th President Jimmy Carter.

After his retirement, Mitchell wrote a Sunday editorial column for The Baltimore Sun every Sunday until his death in 1984. The Sun called it "an extraordinary commentary on the civil rights movement." On March 23, 1984, the Sharp Street Memorial United Methodist Church overflowed with 2,500 mourners who gathered from around the country to pay their respects. Included among them was Harry Hughes (Governor of Maryland), William Donald Schaefer (Mayor of Baltimore and later Governor), Benjamin Hooks, director of the NAACP; and Dorothy Height, president of the National Council of Negro Women.

The main city court house in Baltimore City was renamed as the Clarence M. Mitchell, Jr. Courthouse in 1985 in his honor. Other facilities were also named for him.