Congress honors the civil rights lawyer who won voting rights from Capitol steps
H.R. 7915 — Clarence Mitchell, Jr. Statue Act · Filed by Kweisi Mfume (D-MD) · 14 cosponsors · Introduced Mar 12, 2026 · Referred to committee
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What it does
This bill directs Congress's Joint Committee on the Library to commission and place a statue of Clarence Mitchell, Jr.—a civil rights lawyer and NAACP lobbyist who led the fight for the Civil Rights Act, Voting Rights Act, and Fair Housing Act—in the U.S. Capitol within two years. The bill authorizes spending as needed and allows the Architect of the Capitol to handle the contract on the Committee's behalf.
Why we flagged it
The bill's sole function is to direct placement of a statue honoring a deceased civil rights advocate. It is a commemorative measure, not legislation that changes law, restricts rights, or allocates resources to private parties. The named person (Clarence Mitchell, Jr.) is the beneficiary of the honor, not the sponsor or a sitting officeholder.
Who it affects
The bill honors a pivotal civil rights leader whose decades of advocacy secured landmark protections (voting rights, fair housing, desegregation) that directly benefited millions of Americans and remain foundational to democratic equality. Public commemoration of such a figure reinforces civic memory of hard-won rights and the individuals who fought for them.
Named in the bill
Joint Committee of Congress on the Library, Architect of the Capitol, NAACP, Clarence Mitchell, Jr., U.S. Capitol
Where it stands
14 cosponsors: 14 Democrats.
- Mar 12, 2026 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
- Mar 12, 2026 — Referred to House Committee on House Administration · Congress.gov: “Referred to the House Committee on House Administration”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (3,408 characters) on Sep 7, 2026. Section numbers in the findings refer to that text, linked below; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 16,398 analysed bills.
Status and sponsors — Congress.gov's bill record — actions, committee referrals and cosponsors — loaded nightly. The timeline shows status changes, not every procedural action.
As of — page rendered 2026-10-23.
“Congress honors the civil rights lawyer who won voting rights from Capitol steps” QuorumCivic. https://share.quorumcivic.app/bill/119/hr7915 Report an error
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