[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 90 (Wednesday, June 6, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Page S7172]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            TRIBUTE TO FORMER CONGRESSMAN PARREN J. MITCHELL

  Mr. KERRY. Mr. President, today I rise to pay tribute to a fallen 
pillar of the movement to extend equal opportunity to thousands of 
African-American and minority businesses throughout our Nation: 
Congressman Parren J. Mitchell.
  With the passing of former Congressman Mitchell on May 28, 2007, our 
country has lost one of its legendary advocates for minority business 
owners, a giant who knew that the struggle for civil rights and equal 
opportunity would be decided in America's board rooms as well as its 
voting booths and lunch counters.
  Congressman Mitchell fought with heart, grit, integrity, and 
determination to level the playing field so more minority firms could 
do business with the Federal Government. He didn't just serve as 
chairman of the House Small Business Committee, he served as Congress's 
conscience. He also was founder and chairman of the Minority Business 
Enterprise Legal Defense and Education Fund.
  Congressman Mitchell's life was an incredible story of courage and 
resolve. He became the first African-American graduate student at the 
University of Maryland when he challenged the university's policy of 
segregation. He was the first African American elected to Congress from 
the State of Maryland. He was the first African American elected to 
Congress who lived below the Mason-Dixon line since 1898. And he was 
the first African American to chair the House Small Business Committee.
  Congressman Mitchell's work on that committee has left a legacy that 
is as long and impressive as his commitment to equal opportunity for 
all of our nation's citizens. Many of his policies made it possible for 
the rise of the minority business community. In 1976, he attached an 
amendment to a public works bill stipulating that cities and States 
receiving Federal grants had to award 10 percent of the money to 
minority-owned businesses. That year he also managed to pass a law 
requiring contractors to document their goals in contracting with 
minority-owned companies. In 1980, he was able to successfully amend 
the Surface Transportation Assistance Act to require 10 percent of the 
money to be set aside for minority businesses.
  On May 22, 2007, in the Senate Committee on Small Business and 
Entrepreneurship we held a hearing to look at the state of minority 
small businesses. And while the witnesses at the hearing revealed that 
there have been many gains for minority businesses, they also revealed 
that there is still more that needs to be done. I believe that the 
accomplishments of those who testified at the hearing would have made 
Congressman Mitchell proud. I also believe that the testimony about 
discriminatory practices that still confront minority businesses would 
have confirmed for him as it did for me that there are still more hills 
to climb.
  The challenge now is to climb those hills by creating opportunities 
for minority businesses that will do justice to the memory of 
Congressman Mitchell. As we move forward in the Senate Committee on 
Small Business and Entrepreneurship, the best way to do that is to pass 
laws that expand opportunities for all Americans who have been shut out 
or left behind.

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