Charlene Alexander Mitchell was an American international socialist, feminist, labor and civil rights activist. She was the first black woman to run for president as a Communist party candidate in 1968. She was well known for her activism work like leading the activism campaign to free Angela Davis. Mitchell was born in Cincinnati, Ohio. At 16 she joined the Communist party and also joined the youth branch called American Youth for Democracy when she was 13. She started her activism work in the ... moreCharlene Alexander Mitchell was an American international socialist, feminist, labor and civil rights activist. She was the first black woman to run for president as a Communist party candidate in 1968. She was well known for her activism work like leading the activism campaign to free Angela Davis. Mitchell was born in Cincinnati, Ohio. At 16 she joined the Communist party and also joined the youth branch called American Youth for Democracy when she was 13. She started her activism work in the 1940s, participating in sit ins protests at a movie theater. She attended Herzl Junior College in Chicago. In the 1970s after Angela Davis's campaign and release, Mitchell founded the National Alliance Racist and Political Repression. She went on to campaign on the behalf of defenses for Joan Little and the Wilmington Ten. She also focused her campaigns on anti apartheid and visited Nelson Mandela in prison. James Baldwin often referred to Mitchell as the Joan of Arc of Harlem because she dared to utter the unspeakable truth to power.
