Clarence M. Mitchell, Jr., 1977 February 12
Abstract
Clarence Maurice Mitchell, Jr. (1911-1984) served as the chief lobbyist to the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) for nearly 30 years after earlier positions as NAACP Labor Secretary and Director of the NAACP Washington Bureau. Mitchell begins his oral history interview with a discussion about consciousness of racial discrimination in his youth and recollections about his early education in Baltimore, Maryland. Mitchell describes his post-college work as a reporter for the "Afro-American" newspaper, including covering the 1933 lynching of George Armwood in Princess Anne, Maryland, as well as the trial of the Scottsboro Boys, which began in 1931 in Scottsboro, Alabama. He speaks to his work with the National Youth Administration, National Urban League, and full-time entry into civil right works. Mitchell comments on the impacts of churches, the "Afro-American," and the NAACP on the civil rights movement in Baltimore, discusses segregation, and the influence of freedom fighter Lillie May Carroll Jackson, among other topics.
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Dates
- 1977 February 12
Creator
- Mitchell, Clarence M., Jr. (Clarence Maurice), 1911-1984 (Narrator, Person)
Conditions Governing Access
The collection is open for research use.
Extent
76 Minutes (Audio recording)
51 Pages (Transcript)
Language of Materials
From the Collection: English
Processing Information
There are an additional 6 pages of supplementary material (biographical data, interview evaluation, and newspaper clipping) included after the transcript.
Scope and Contents
This collection is comprised of 87 oral history interviews and 4 other related items. Materials available for the interviews include audio recordings, transcripts, tape indexes, newspaper clippings, biographical information, and interview evaluations. Each item record indicates whether a complete transcript or an uncorrected transcript is available for an oral history.
All recordings within the collection are digitized and continue to be added to MCHC's Digital Collections portal.
Interviews were conducted from 1975-1977, with some earlier recordings made prior to the project added to the collection. Narrators range from leaders in the Maryland civil rights movement and local activists, to people opposed to the movement. Narrators include Lillie May Carroll Jackson’s children: Juanita Jackson Mitchell, Virginia Jackson Kiah, and Bowen Keiffer Jackson; Parren Mitchell, U.S. Congressman, 1971-1987; Donald G. Murray, the first African American admitted to the University of Maryland Law School; Verda Welcome, one of the first Black women to be elected to a state Senate; Thomas J. D’Alesandro III, mayor of Baltimore, 1967-1971; Clarence Mitchell, Jr., chief lobbyist to the NAACP; Vernon Naimaster, Great Titan of the Maryland Ku Klux Klan; and Dr. J.E.T. Camper, a prominent physician who also devoted his career to seeking racial justice and equality.
In addition to these oral history interviews, there are four items related to the project that are included with the collection. There is an audio recording of a radio program on which narrators David Glenn and Judge Robert Watts appeared to discuss the McKeldin-Jackson project with host Alan Christian. There is an audio recording as well as textual materials from the colloquium and exhibition held at the Maryland Historical Society to commemorate the McKeldin-Jackson project on November 16, 1976. There is also a research paper written by a Goucher College student on Theodore R. McKeldin and the civil rights movement in Maryland and a binder containing information on the development and progress of the McKeldin-Jackson project.
Creator
- Mitchell, Clarence M., Jr. (Clarence Maurice), 1911-1984 (Narrator, Person)
- Wagandt, Charles (Interviewer, Person)
Repository Details
Part of the H. Furlong Baldwin Library Repository
H. Furlong Baldwin Library
Maryland Center for History and Culture
610 Park Avenue
Baltimore MD 21201 United States
4106853750
specialcollections@mdhistory.org