Parren Mitchell, the state?s first black congressman, who died Monday, was hailed by Maryland leaders as a civil rights trailblazer, a leader for the disenfranchised and an advocate for small business.
“He was really like a second father to me,” said Kweisi Mfume, who succeeded Mitchell in Congress. “He taught a whole generation of young people that you had to stand up for what you believed in.”
Mfume first met Mitchell on a street corner in the midst of 1968 riots in West Baltimore, and it was Mitchell, trying to calm the community, who gave Mfume advice he had repeated throughout his career.
“He just looked me dead in the eye, and said, ?I know you?re angry, but remember it?s not how you start out in life that matters, it?s how you finish,? ” Mfume said.
Rep. Elijah Cummings, who replaced Mfume, said, “It was not unusual for Congressman Mitchell to pick up the telephone and give advice. He was a teacher who touched my life and the lives of so many others.”
As chairman of the House Small Business Committee, “Congressman Mitchell helped open business opportunities to those who previously had been excluded. Through his work in the Congressional Black Caucus, he helped create the organization that hasenabled African-American members of Congress to speak with a united voice for justice and for equality,” Cummings said.
Sen. Barbara Mikulski, who worked with Mitchell for two decades, called him “a pathbreaker, a champion of social justice ? and a dear friend, mentor and colleague.” Mikulski said Mitchell led Baltimore?s anti-poverty program.
“There wasn?t a day that went by when we didn?t talk about how to help our hometown and the families who live here,” she said.
Gov. Martin O?Malley called Mitchell a transformational leader. “He inspired a generation of Baltimoreans ? including my wife Katie and I ? to join his cause,” O?Malley said. “We will keep his example in mind as we do our best to continue his work.”
“Parren Mitchell was always humble about his success,” Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon said. “Many successful and thriving minority- and women-owned businesses in this country owe the protections and benefits they enjoy today to Parren Mitchell?s determination and expertise.”
