tor,” waged a tireless campaign on Capitol Hill to secure the passage of a series of Civil Rights laws: the 1957 Civil Rights Act, the 1960 Civil Rights Act, the 1964 Civil Rights Act, the 1965 Voting Rights Act, and the 1968 Fair Housing Act. The main courthouse in Baltimore City was renamed in his honor and the engineering building at Morgan State University. PARREN J MITCHELL (1922-2007) Nicknamed “PJ‘, Parren graduated from Frederick Douglass High School in Baltimore in 1940. PJ earned an undergrad degree from Mor- gan State and a Master’s Degree from the University of Mary- land College Park. Parren sued the UMCP to gain admission. He became the first African American to earn a degree from their graduate school. Parren fought discrimination and segregation in downtown Baltimore and the City’s school system. He served as an officer in the United States Army during WW II. He was as a member of the 92nd Infantry Division and received the Purple Heart Medal after being wound- ed in Italy during the war. In 1970, Parren became the first African Ameri- can person from the State of Maryland elected to the United States Con- gress. PJ represented the 7th Congressional District from 1970 to 1987. He was a founding member of the Congressional Black Caucus. Mitchell fought for affirmative action policies. He served as Chairman of the Small Business Committee. One of Parren’s most important political achieve- ments was the establishment of the federal set aside program for Minority Businesses. He was known as the Father of Minority Business Enterprise laws and worked as a strong advocate for black business development. The UMCP re-named their art and sociology department after Parren. In his hometown there is a building named after him on Saratoga Street and Martin Luther King Boulevard. DR. ELMER P. MARTIN JR. (1946-2001) was a sociolo- gist and museum executive. He served as the Chairman/Pro- fessor of Social Work at Morgan State University for over 25 years. Along with his wife, Dr. Joanne Martin, he was the co-founder of the first wax museum in the country dedicated to Black history. The National Great Blacks in Wax Museum is located in Baltimore. Martin and his wife Joanne opened the museum on July 9, 1983, with only four wax figures: Frederick Douglass, Mary McLeod Bethune, Harriet Tubman, and Nat Turner; today the number approaches 200 wax figures. The Martins wanted to teach American Black history in a way that would grab student’s attention and instill a sense of pride, aware- ness and appreciation for their history and heritage. The wax figures in the
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