Honoring Charlene Mitchell, the First Black Woman to Run for President

Today we mourn the passing of a leader and trailblazer in social justice movement, Charlene Mitchell. Below is a tribute from CRS Board Member, Kevin Tyson remembering Ms. Mitchell.

I was 16 years old when I joined the Youth Committee to Free Angela Davis, encouraged by my brother to help secure freedom for one of the most phenomenal activists of our time. Shortly after, I met Charlene Mitchell as she crossed the country and traveled internationally to organize activists, actors, scholars, religious leaders and just about anyone that would listen to win Angela’s freedom, occasionally stopping in our shared Harlem.

Charlene welcomed me in her house as one of her children, and I was amazed by her brilliance, charm, and delivery. But it wasn’t until a year later after Angela was freed, and one of her nephews moved to New York that I would spend hours at Charlene’s house and listen to her articulate the need for unity and struggle, while eating some of her home-cooked wings and greens and exposed to her motherly love and caring. This side of Charlene would have just as much of an impact on my life as her teaching me and others how to organize and strategize for liberation. Charlene was a master at the art of coalition building, and I witnessed this numerous times, including as the Alliance made house in North Carolina and worked for the freedom of Rev. Ben Chavis and Joann Little.

Charlene would talk about how all of her “children’ turned out ok, but I wonder if she really knew the profound impact she had on us. Whether complimenting or chastising us, it would be done with grace and determination to ensure we understood her point. Her love for humanity was unparalleled, and her commitment to freedom was second to none. I’ll always remember the bid whist games and the Thanksgiving parties.

To hear Charlene talk about her experiences would keep you in amazement for hours, and her analysis of events, whether internationally or down the street, would keep anyone’s attention. I remember how moved she was when we watched “Boys in the Hood” together at the theatre. Her first response at the end was “talk about a message movie”, and we reflected on Dough Boy’s comments about how what happens in the ‘hood is treated as a statistic and not a human tragedy, or sometimes doesn’t even make the news.

Decades later, as we are witnesses to the destabilization of the Black community and we are in search of change and hope, we look towards Charlene as a model for inspiration and dedication to build a new community and a new world. Even as she later had difficulty communicating, you were clear where Charlene stood on an issue. The footprint that Charlene has made on the world is seared in our minds and hearts. I am confident that Charlene is still organizing and strategizing, and still cooking wings and greens with the ancestors.

- Kevin Tyson, CRS Board Member

Learn more about the legacy of Charlene Mitchell.

Photo and obituary from The New York Times.