Leland Ware

May 14: UDLA Faculty Lecture

UDLA Faculty Lecture to feature Ware on 'The 1960s and Civil Rights'

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2:06 p.m., May 7, 2013--The University of Delaware Library Associates has announced the 2013 Faculty Lecture, titled “The 1960s and Civil Rights: A Decade of Unprecedented Progress” and to be given by Leland Ware, Louis L. Redding Professor of Law and Public Policy and interim director of the School of Public Policy and Administration at UD.

The lecture will be held on Tuesday, May 14, at 4:30 p.m., in the Reading Room (formerly the Reserve Room) of UD’s Morris Library. It is open to the public.

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Ware will also include information in his remarks about the Littleton and Jane Mitchell papers.

A reception for program attendees will follow in the adjacent area in the Reading Room after Ware’s presentation.

Interested individuals may request a printed invitation by calling the Office of the Vice Provost at 302-831-2231 or by sending an email to UDLA@udel.edu. An online version of the invitation is available. The program is open to the UD community and to the public. Acceptances are encouraged, and walk-ins are welcome.

The Faculty Lecture will also celebrate the official opening of the Littleton P. and Jane Mitchell papers, which were a gift of the Mitchells’ son, Philip Vann Mitchell, who followed the wishes of his father.

The Littleton and Jane Mitchell papers are now owned by the University of Delaware Library and have been processed for use. Ware, as well as Judge Charles H. Toliver IV, facilitated in bringing the Littleton and Jane Mitchell papers to the University of Delaware Library.

The accompanying exhibition “Fighting for Equality: Littleton P. Mitchell,” in the Information Room on the first floor of the Morris Library, will be on view from Tuesday, May 14, through Sunday, June 2.

Littleton P. (Litt) Mitchell (1918-2009) of Milford, Del., attended West Chester (Pa.) State College until his education was interrupted by enlistment in the U.S. Army Air Corps. Mitchell served as a member of the famed Tuskegee Airmen during World War II. He then completed his bachelor of science degree at West Chester State College.

In 1984, Mitchell retired from his career as a teacher and counselor at Governor Bacon Health Center in Delaware City.

He was the first African American educator to teach white school children in Delaware. Through numerous organizations and in partnership with his close friend Louis L. Redding, Mitchell championed equal rights for African Americans and other disenfranchised citizens in areas of education, public housing, public services and voting rights.

He served 30 years (1961-1991) as president of the Delaware State Branch of the NAACP. 

Jane Mitchell (1921-2004) received her bachelor of science degree from the University of Delaware in 1963 and was the first African American nurse to work in a Delaware hospital. 

She served as a member of the Board of Trustees of the University of Delaware, the Delaware State Board of Nursing and the University of Delaware Nursing Visiting Committee.

The bulk of the Littleton and Jane Mitchell collection consists of Littleton Mitchell’s papers relating to his public service with the Delaware branch of the NAACP and various other organizations. There is also a significant group of Jane Mitchell’s professional papers. One of the largest components of the collection is photographs of the family, of community gatherings and of professional meetings which Litt and Jane Mitchell attended. 

Available at the event will be the book, Choosing Equality: Essays and Narratives on the Desegregation Experience, which was edited by Ware and Robert L. Hayman Jr., professor of law at Widener University, and was published in 2009 by the Pennsylvania State University Press. The book contains a five-page foreword written by Vice President Joe Biden. It will be available for purchase from the Barnes and Noble University of Delaware Bookstore at the event. Ware has expressed a willingness to sign copies of his book during the reception.

Acceptances for this program sponsored by the University of Delaware Library Associates may be sent via email to libraryrsvp@winsor.lib.udel.edu or made by telephone, 302-831-2231.

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