Lion in the Lobby: Clarence Mitchell, Jr.'s Struggle for the Passage of Civil Rights Laws - Softcover

Watson, Denton L.

9780761864509: Lion in the Lobby: Clarence Mitchell, Jr.'s Struggle for the Passage of Civil Rights Laws

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0761864504 ISBN 13: 9780761864509

Publisher: University Press of America, 2014

Clarence Mitchell, Jr. is unique in the pantheon of civil rights history. Born in Baltimore on March 18, 1911, he led the struggle in Washington for passage of the civil rights laws and promulgation of constructive national policies to protect the constitutional rights of African Americans and all other citizens suffering discrimination because of race, national origin, religion, sex, age, or sexual orientation. Lion in the Lobby chronicles Mitchell's life story and mission of getting the Congress to join the courts and the Executive Branch in upholding the Constitution in order to fulfill the NAACP's egalitarian philosophy. He worked with seven presidents, from Harry Truman to Jimmy Carter, to build a legacy of advocacy that won him the popular moniker of 101st senator and the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1978. This revised edition is strengthened by a detailed account of the bitter battle within the NAACP over Mitchell's retirement. It also offers a fuller picture of Mitchell's differences with the philosophy of nonviolence.

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About the Author:

Denton L. Watson is Associate Professor of American Studies, SUNY College at Old Westbury. He served as the Director of Public Relations, NAACP, from 1982-1985.

From Publishers Weekly:

Civil rights lobbyist Mitchell is an unsung hero of the movement for racial equality. Director of the NAACP's Washington bureau for 28 years, the "101st Senator," as he was dubbed, influenced presidents from FDR to Carter and played a pivotal role in pushing through major civil rights legislation. Born in a Baltimore ghetto, Mitchell, as a cub reporter, covered a 1933 lynching and the Scottsboro, Ala., trial of nine black youths charged with raping two whites. He ran unsuccessfully on the Socialist party ticket for the Maryland legislature but later became a political conservative. A courtly man whose blunt oratory often embroiled him in controversy, Mitchell made history in the halls of Congress and behind the scenes. He died poor in 1984. Watson, publicity director for the NAACP, encapsulates the drama and turmoil of the civil rights movement in this absorbing, massive biography. Photos.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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