Littleton Mitchell of Delaware City was a member of the famed Tuskegee Airmen during World War II. He was best known as the 30-year outspoken president of the state NAACP (1961-1991) and he established a reputation as a ferocious fighter for civil rights in Delaware, which included the areas of housing, public accommodations, education, and voting rights. Mitchell died tragically in a car accident near the then Valero Refinery in 2009. Then-Vice President Joe Biden said of his passing, “Lit Mitchell was a man of incredible strength and courage; he was a hero to many, including me. A man who overcame so much to fight for his country in countless ways – serving as a Tuskegee Airman in World War II, leading the civil rights movement in Delaware, and helping integrate schools nationwide – Lit was a remarkable force.”
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Delaware City’s African American Police Chiefs
Charles “Chuck” Griffin was Delaware’s first Black police Chief. In 1971 he was hired to lead the police force in Delaware City. At the time, the position was part-time, 8 p.m.-4 a.m. weekdays and 4 p.m. to midnight on weekends. News accounts show he put in 40-50...
We Celebrate – Tony Allen
Tony Allen, a graduate of William Penn High School, is presently the President of Delaware State University. Allen, a former speechwriter for President Joe Biden, also served as head of the Commander in Chief’s Inaugural Committee. In other positions of leadership,...
WE Honor: The Buttonwood Colored School
Located off of Route 9 on Buttonwood Avenue in New Castle, the Buttonwood Colored School first opened in 1919 during the nation’s period of segregation to serve the needs of “colored” students growing up in the historically Black suburban neighborhood. The...