!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd"> Streamline Training & Documentation: Parren J. Mitchell, 1922-2007

Sunday, June 10, 2007

Parren J. Mitchell, 1922-2007

 


It's always encouraging to read about how someone who has passed away — retired Congressman Parren Mitchell of Baltimore died on May 28 — inspired a younger person. In a touching remembrance published on June 10, James P. Moore Jr., assistant secretary of commerce in the Reagan administration and now an adjunct professor at Georgetown University's McDonough School of Business, had this to say:

Fresh out of graduate school, weeks after President Jimmy Carter had taken office in 1977, I was hired as a legislative assistant for one of the most conservative members of Congress on Capitol Hill.

Not long after I began to work for him, I learned that directly across the hall was the office of one of the most liberal members of the House, Rep. Parren J. Mitchell (D-Md.). One of my co-workers cautioned me to be careful if I ever got near him. He is one of "God's angry men," I was told.

Feeling a bit brave one day, I decided to introduce myself to the Baltimore congressman as both of us were walking toward the Capitol. Despite my telling him whom I worked for, he let me know how glad he was to meet me and hoped we would be friends. I was dumbfounded.

A few months later we were walking together again when we passed a member who was not considered one of the more adept representatives.

"Congressman," I said, "sometimes when I stroll these corridors, I can't help asking, 'How did some of these people get here?' and then I wonder, 'How do they stay here?' " He put his hand on my shoulder and with a knowing, impish smile said, "I ask myself those questions every day."

Despite our clear political differences, he could not have been any kinder to a mere House staffer. On one occasion he ushered me into his office, telling me that he wanted me to meet someone. Soon I was standing in front of Alex Haley, the author of "Roots," who proceeded to sign a photograph for me with the inscription "to Parren's friend." I would later learn that Rep. Mitchell became so angry about the wrenching portrayal of slaves in the historic television miniseries based on "Roots" that he could not bear to watch the end of it.

While history will remember Parren Mitchell for his "firsts" as an African American and for his struggles and impassioned eloquence in the fight for civil rights, I will never forget the class, decency and extraordinary demeanor of the man who stood behind that public figure. We did not always agree on style or substance, but I felt as though I could talk rationally with him on almost any subject despite those differences. It is a quality sorely missing in so many public servants today.

A lifelong bachelor who poured himself into his work, he also could be deeply introspective. One December, I asked him what his plans were for Christmas. He told me that he intended to spend a week at an Episcopal monastery to gain a greater appreciation of the message of Christmas. I have never forgotten that moment and how I came to appreciate all the more my own holiday that year.

Parren Mitchell was one of a kind, a man whose sense of duty was wrapped in the ideal of lifting the moral and ethical bar for his country and for the people he served. His example set the kind of benchmark needed for elected representatives today as we seek common ground amid our great divides. That is quite a legacy for the son of a hotel waiter and a mother raising 10 children.


For a recap of Parren Mitchell's career, you can read the Washington Post obituary here.

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