Biography · Politics & Public Life
Arthur Wergs Mitchell
1883–1968
United States
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Arthur Wergs Mitchell Sr. (December 22, 1883 – May 9, 1968) was an American politician and civil rights activist from Illinois. He represented Illinois's 1st congressional district for his entire tenure in the United States House of Representatives, from 1935 to 1943, during which time he was the only African American in Congress. A supporter of the New Deal, Mitchell was the first African American to be elected to the Congress as a Democrat.
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Biography text · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source checked 2026-10-20