1969]                                 OF THE SENATE                                    45

Hon. Clarence Mitchell, Jr. nominated

Senator Clarence Mitchell, III, nominated Clarence Mitchell, Jr., as follows:

"Mr. Chairman, My distinguished Colleagues in the General Assembly:

"I rise to make a nomination, a symbolic one, but I rise for two purposes. I rise because I am proud that Maryland does have a representative in the Black Community, who is capable of assuming the Office of Governor, and I rise secondly so that our State and our nation can be aware that Black America too participates in the history of this day. I had not intended to make this nomination, but because this body saw fit not to give its membership an opportunity to speak, I had to use this occasion and opportunity to do so. I stand before you as a young Black American, proud to be Black and proud to be American. I stand before you as a young man, who at the age of 22, was elected to be a member of this august body. I stand before you as a man, who at the age of 26 in 1966, was elected a member of the august body across the hall known as the Maryland Senate. Only in America could this occur.

"The man whom I stand before you to nominate can be described by the article that was in the Washington Post, and it was then placed in the Congressional Record in the Senate on April 22nd of this year by the Honorable Hugh Scott from Pennsylvania. The article is entitled 'Crime Movement': 'The real heroes of legislative battles are often unseen and unsung; too often the kudos and hurrahs go to those who are most visible, while the prime movers go unpraised. A special salute is in order, we think, to Clarence M. Mitchell, Jr. for the part he played in bringing the latest civil rights bill to enactment and for the part he has played in the adoption of every civil rights measure for more than a decade past. Clarence Mitchell is Director of the Washington Bureau of the NAACP and chief lobbyist for the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights. It was he who persisted when others faltered in conviction that a full scale civil rights bill with bona fide open housing provisions could be enacted in this session of Congress. It was he who faced the Congress and the American people, who steadfastly fought and denied failure. All Americans are indebted to him.'

"I stand before you as a participant in the legislative process because my father has demonstrated to me that the legislative process does work for all Americans and that it is available to all Americans. We face a challenge and the next Governor of the State faces that challenge as well as all of us. I am reminded of what a little girl in Ohio said when President-elect Nixon was coming through. She held up a little sign saying 'Bring Us Together.' I suggest, in fact, that this is the order of the day. Mr. President-elect Nixon—please bring us together. The next Governor of the State of Maryland—please bring us together. My distinguished colleagues in the General Assembly, I ask you to rise too to the challenges, the challenges of bringing us together as one America. I challenge you, each and every one of you, to play your part in that great task. Yes, to Mr. and Mrs. White America and to young White America, and Mr. and Mrs. Black America and to young Black America, I challenge you too. John Kennedy once said, 'America faces challenges greater than any which it has ever faced before.' This is no time for complacency. This is no time to abandon the drive and the optimism and the imaginative creativity which has characterized this country. This is no time for timidity or