Lofton mitchell biography channel

American dramatist (1919–2001)

James Loften Mitchell (April 15, 1919 – May 14, 2001) was an American playwright and theatre historian who was part of the black American theatre movement of the 1960s.

Lofton mitchell biography channel

Life and career

Mitchell was born in Columbus, North Carolina, to an African-American family, and moved as a young child with his parents to Harlem, New York City. As a high school student, he began performing and writing theatrical sketches, and joined the Rose McClendon Players.

He met performers such as Ethel Waters and George Wiltshire, and encountered racial discrimination at first hand in his everyday life. As a result, he resolved to work towards presenting positive images of blacks, and providing better work opportunities, in the theatre.

He attended the City College of New York and won a scholarship to attend Talladega College in Alabama, where he wrote a paper which later became the basis of his 1967 book, Black Drama: The Story of the America