Mitchell, Littleton P. (Littleton Purnell), 1918-2009

Scott Pruden. "Remembering Littleton Mitchell," Delaware Today, July 7, 2009. http://www.delawaretoday.com/Delaware-Today/July-2009/Remembering-Littleton-Mitchell (accessed April 25, 2013). Carol Hoffecker. "Black Women in Delaware's History," University of Delaware, August 4, 1997. http://www.udel.edu/BlackHistory/blackwomen.html (accessed April 25, 2013). "In Memoriam Jane E. Mitchell," UDaily, November 16, 2004. http://www.udel.edu/PR/UDaily/2005/oct/mitchell111604.html (accessed April 25, 2013). Additional biographical information derived from the collection.

Littleton Purnell Mitchell, known as "Lit," was born on November 27, 1918, to Littleton Vann Mitchell and Helen Ann Purnell Mitchell in Milford, Delaware. He attended the Milford Colored School until eight grade and then attended Howard High School in Wilmington, Delaware, which was the only high school for African-American students in the state of Delaware at the time. Mitchell graduated from Howard High School in 1939 and was admitted to West Chester State College of Pennsylvania (now West Chester University) on a track scholarship.

After two years in college, he enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Corps and served in Tuskegee, Alabama, as a member of the "Tuskegee Airmen" during World War II. While at Tuskegee Army Air Base, he served as an instructor for instrument simulator training. Mitchell was a second generation soldier, as his father also served in the US Army during World War I. In 1943, Mitchell also married Jane Evelyn Watson, who moved to Alabama to work at the Tuskegee Institute Hospital.

When he was discharged from the army in February 1946, Littleton returned to West Chester State College and continued coursework. He graduated in 1948 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Physical Education. He later continued his formal education at the University of Delaware and Temple University, concentrating in areas of Special Education.

Mitchell remained a reserve officer in the U.S. Army, and graduated from the Athletic Directors' School, Fort Bragg, North Carolina, and the Special Service Officer's School, Fort Benjamin Harrison, Indiana, in 1950 and 1951 respectively.

When the Governor Bacon Health Center was opened in Delaware City in 1948, Dr. M. A. Tarumianz hired Mitchell as an instructor, where he would become the first African-American in Delaware to teach white students. Mitchell would spend his entire career, until his retirement in 1984, as a teacher and counselor for emotionally troubled youth at the Governor Bacon Health Center.

At the urging of his mother, Mitchell became involved with the Milford Branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) at age twelve. He would join the Wilmington Branch of the NAACP during high school and eventually go on to become vice president and president of that branch. In 1961, Mitchell became president of the Delaware State Branches of the NAACP, and led the organization for over thirty years, until 1991. During his time as president, he directed efforts to ensure equal rights for African-Americans and other minorities in the state. Mitchell fought to address issues of fair housing, school desegregation, equal access to public accommodations, voting rights, and increased employment and educational opportunities for African-Americans. He worked with Louis L. Redding (1901-1998), the noted Delaware civil rights attorney and his close friend, to address many of these issues. Mitchell also was a fierce advocate for the rights of migrant workers in the state, who often lived amid squalid conditions. In addition to his leadership of the Delaware NAACP, Mitchell served as president and vice president of Region II NAACP, which is comprised of ten northeastern states from Delaware to Maine.

Lit Mitchell was also heavily involved with many community, state, and national organizations. He served as president of the New Castle Progressive Club, board member of the Delaware Alliance Federal Credit Union, president of the Gunning Bedford Kindergarten Association, member of the Governor of Delaware's Advisory Council on Affirmative Action, member of the New Castle County Executive's Transition team, president of the Governor Bacon Education Association, and board member of the African American Museum of History. He also had served on the council of the Delaware Humanities Forum from 1991 to 1997 where he advocated expanding programs to include more minorities and on the Brown v. Board of Education 50th Anniversary Commission as a presidential appointee representing Delaware.

Mitchell also had many personal hobbies and interests, such as international travel, track and field events, and bull fighting. He was also an active member of Christ Episcopal Church in Delaware City and a 32nd degree Mason and Shriner.

Mitchell received numerous awards and citations including the 1999 West Chester University President's Medallion for Service, West Chester University Distinguished Achievement Award, AARP Delaware 2008 Andrus Award, the Congressional Medal for service as a Tuskegee Airman, News Journal Distinguished Citizen Award, University of Delaware Medal of Merit, Delaware State Education Association Human and Civil Rights Award, and Delaware Bar Association's 2004 Liberty Bell Award. In 2008, Delaware Technical College created the Littleton and Jane Mitchell Scholarship which is awarded to nursing students.

Littleton Mitchell died on July 6, 2009, and is survived by his son Philip Vann Mitchell and his wife Ernestine. He was preceded in death by his wife Jane, sisters Phyllis and Angela, and his brother Kenny.

Jane Evelyn Mitchell was born Jane Evelyn Watson in 1921. Her immediate family included her father Charles Elmer Watson, Sr., her brother Eugene, and sisters Elaine and Arlene. She was a graduate of the Howard High School Provident Hospital Nursing Program and later graduated from the University of Delaware in 1963. She earned her Master's degree from Washington College in Chestertown, Maryland. She married Littleton Mitchell in 1943, while working at the Tuskegee Institute Hospital in Alabama.

Mitchell became the first African-American registered nurse employed in a hospital in Delaware, serving as Head Nurse at Governor Bacon Heath Center in Delaware City, Delaware. She spent the majority of her career at Delaware State Hospital in New Castle, Delaware, where she served as supervisor of Psychiatric Services, and Director of Nursing Services. Mitchell was also active in the NAACP and along with her husband, led efforts to desegregate the state's hospitals.

Mitchell also served as vice president of the Delaware Nurses Association and was president of the Delaware State Board of Nursing. She was a recipient of the University of Delaware's Medal of Merit and inducted into the Alumni Wall of Fame in 1998. She also served on the visiting committee of the University's College of Health and Nursing Sciences.

In 1999, the Delaware Psychiatric Center in New Castle was named in her honor. Other honors included being named Woman of the Year by the National Association of College Women, receiving the Award of Merit from the Delaware State Arts Council, receiving the Unsung Heroine Award from the NAACP and being inducted into the Hall of Fame of Delaware Women.

Mitchell was a member of St. Paul Catholic Church in Delaware City, volunteer for AARP, speaker for the American Cancer Society, and a member of Sigma Theta Tau, the national nursing honor society. She was also an artist, specializing in oil paintings and ceramics.

Jane Mitchell died on November 13, 2004 in Delaware City.

From the guide to the Littleton and Jane Mitchell papers, 1911-2009, 1950-2000, (University of Delaware Library - Special Collections)