Black History Month: The lost legacy of Joseph R. Mitchem Jr.

TWIN FALLS, Idaho (KMVT/KSVT) —We all stand on the shoulders of giants even if we don’t even know who they are, and that is the case of Joseph R. Mitchem Jr.

“In 1908, the Times News reports that he’s the first young, black male to pass the bar in Idaho,” Local Historian Justin Vipperman said.

Joseph Mitchem was a man of many firsts, not only was he the first African American to pass the bar exam in Idaho, but he was also the first African American to graduate from Dozier High School in Michigan.

In the year 1908, the Idaho Legislature repealed a section of code that forbade African Americans from taking the bar exam in the state. “…The Fact that there were a lot of barriers that appeared to be coming down…The word white has been removed from the legal statement.” Dr. Jim Gentry, Professor Emeritus of History at the College of Southern Idaho said.

While working at the Hotel Perrine Mr. Mitchem was able to take advantage of systemic barriers that had been coming down around the country and become the first African American to be eligible to practice law in the state, but records of him ever practicing law are near impossible to find.

“I haven’t been able to find any records in Twin Falls County. A lot of that stuff is now gone…If he was practicing, he would have been from 1908 till 1913…And so there’s a very brief period of time during that time.” Mr. Vipperman explained.

It’s possible that Joseph Mitchem wasn’t ever able to practice law thanks to established stereotypes of the time.

“We have to keep in mind in 1908 that the distance from the Civil War was still not great…” Dr. Gentry said.

However, it should be noted that it appears that Joseph Mitchem never wanted to practice law in the state of Idaho.

“It appears that he was here just because his brother was here and he was staying with them while preparing (for the bar exam),” Dr. Gentry explained.

This story has fallen to the footnotes of History, but what Dr. Gentry finds intriguing about this story is that it was told at all.

“I was surprised that he got any recognition…I think he is reflecting an attempt to try to put the best face forward in terms of this guy’s ability or maybe in terms of the Twin Fall’s ability to appreciate him in spite of his race,” Dr. Gentry said.

Another first for a growing Twin Falls that Justin Vipperman hopes will tell a story you may have never heard before and will remember how complex even your local history can be.

“I think it’s important to kind of explain these stories and bring them back out of obscurity because this is something that this is something that we all should be looking towards as a great accomplishment, maybe not even just an African-American accomplishment, just a great accomplishment for Idaho, that we repeal this statue, that bars people of color from being able to ab attorneys in Idaho.” Mr. Vipperman explained.

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