Breaking down barriers - Jacksonville Journal Courier
Amid the tumult of the civil rights movement, Frank Mitchell of Springfield changed the face of Washington. Mitchell, then a 15-year-old student at Feitshans High School, entered the doors to the Capitol to become the first African-American page for the U. S. House of Representatives. Fifty years later, his sponsor — former Congressman Paul Findley of Jacksonville — is being honored along with Mitchell for the history-altering event. During his year as a congressional page, Mitchell’s duties included running errands and answering phones. But the sometimes mundane responsibilities offered the chance to see history in the making — he was there as the Voting Rights Bill was passed — and to enter a world few African-Americans had ever experienced. “For many of the other pages and some of the congressmen and women I interacted with, I was not just the first ‘Negro’ page but the first ‘Negro’ they knew and conversed with for any length of time. “It’s debatable what role my appointment had in the civil rights mosaic,” he said. Source: myjournalcourier.com
