Charlene Mitchell

For the soap opera character, see Scott Robinson and Charlene Mitchell.

Charlene Mitchell (c. 1930— ) was a third-party candidate in the United States presidential election, 1968, and was the first African-American woman to run for President of the United States. She represented the Communist Party USA (CPUSA) and her running mate was Michael "Mike" Zagarell, the National Youth Director of the party and at 23 years old, younger than the required age to hold office. They were only on the ballot in two states. Mitchell's brother and sister-in-law Franklin and Kendra Alexander had also been active in the party.

In 1988 she ran as an Independent Progressive for U.S. Senator from New York against incumbent Daniel Patrick Moynihan, who won reelection by a large margin.

Purged from the CPUSA's national committee by Gus Hall some time before 1992, as of 2006 she is active in the Committees of Correspondence for Democracy and Socialism (CCDS), an independent offshoot of the party.

Selected works

• The Fight to Free Angela Davis: Its Importance for the Working Class (1972) ISBN 0-87898-085-7
• Equality; its time has come (1985)