(April 29, 1922 – May 28, 2007) First African-American congressman from Maryland. Born in Baltimore, he received a Purple Heart in World War II. After he graduated from Morgan State University in Baltimore, he sued the University of Maryland for admission to its graduate school. He became the first African-American to graduate with a master’s degree from the university. A founding member of the Congressional Black Caucus, he championed affirmative action. His brother, Clarence Mitchell, Jr., was the head of the NAACP’s Washington office. Two of his nephews were convicted of bribery. The FBI says it is “searching the indices to our central records system” for Mitchell’s file.