This Day in Black History: May 9, 1963
Arthur Wergs Mitchell, the first Black Democrat elected to Congress, died in Petersburg, Virginia, on May 9, 1963.
Arthur Wergs Mitchell, a U.S. representative from Illinois, was the first African-American Democrat to be elected to Congress. He was a national force in Black politics until his death at his Virginia farm on May 9, 1963.
Mitchell, the son of former slaves, was born in Alabama on Dec. 22, 1883, and studied at Tuskegee Institute. He worked his way through college as a farm laborer and as an office boy for Booker T. Washington. Mitchell later practiced law in Washington, D.C., before moving to Chicago in 1929. He was elected to Congress in 1934 after defeating Black Republican incumbent Oscar De Priest.
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Posted By: Dea. Ron Gray Sr.
Tuesday, May 9th 2023 at 5:01AM
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