On Wednesday, April 26, 2017, the Critical Race Initiative, Department of Sociology, and College of Behavioral and Social Sciences at the University of Maryland, will host the 4th Annual Parren J. Mitchell Symposium.  The symposium was created to celebrate the legacy of the late Congressman Parren J. Mitchell.

​​In 1952, after suing the University to gain admission, Parren J. Mitchell became the first African American to attend graduate school at the University of Maryland, receiving a Master’s degree in Sociology.  Congressman Mitchell stated later in his life that his sociology training shaped his activism in politics and social change.

The theme for this year’s symposium is Truth & Lies: Race, Media, and Politics. For more information, click here.