The legacy of Parren Mitchell and the Art-Sociology Building

Morgan Newton | April 9, 2017

COLLEGE PARK, Md.- In 2015 the Board of Regents of the University System of Maryland
voted to rename the Art-Sociology building at the
University of Maryland, College Park after former
congressman, Parren Mitchell. The late congressman
attended the University of Maryland in the 1950s,
where he became the first African American to earn a
graduate degree from the university.

Parren Mitchell was a native of Baltimore. After

graduating from Frederick Douglass Senior High
School, Mitchell joined the army and fought in World
War II. He later received the Purple Heart, a military
award granted to those wounded or killed while serving
in the military.

Mitchell returned to Baltimore and enrolled at Morgan State University, where he received his
bachelors degree. Then, under the legal counsel of NAACP leader Thurgood Marshall, Mitchell
sued the University of Maryland, College Park for admission into their graduate school. He
graduated in 1952 with a degree in sociology.

This landmark case needs to be remembered and revered, said University of Maryland junior
Imani Davis. Everyone should know about his [Parren Mitchell] accomplishments and how he
paved the way for other students of color, especially here at the university.

After graduating from Maryland, Mitchell pursued academic positions in which he taught
sociology and urban affairs. He used his passion for helping impoverished communities to
become the first African American to be elected to Congress.

Mitchell also became one of the founders of the Congressional Black Caucus, an organization
that protects the interests of African American members in congress.

Mitchells legacy is important to the art-sociology building and the campus, said University of
Maryland alumnus James Newton. Being able to fight through racial obstacles to contribute to
his community sets an example for our young, black youth today.
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