MPT is creating HBCU-themed programming centered around Becoming Thurgood, which focuses on Supreme Court justice Thurgood Marshall and is directed by Alexis Aggrey. Aggrey, a graduate of HBCU Norfolk State University in Virginia, was a coordinating producer and director of marketing and engagement for Black Public Media. The film credits Mitchell and Stanley Nelson as co-EPs, and Mitchell is working on getting the film a national premiere on PBS in the fall 2025.

Mitchell described the HBCU Week initiative as personal. Both of his parents went to Shaw University, an HBCU in Raleigh, N.C., and he grew up watching WUNC in Chapel Hill. He received his bachelor’s degree from Morgan State and has certifications from Clark Atlanta University.