Oral History with Greg Mitchell

Oral History with Greg Mitchell

In this oral history interview, Greg Mitchell sat down with Ayele d’Almeida (’20), Jacob Roberson (’19), and Mysia Perry (’21) on June 18, 2018, in Boatwright Memorial Library. Over the course of the forty minute interview, Mitchell shares stories and reflections from his time at the University of Richmond from 1976-1980. He speaks about his childhood experiences moving from a small Texas town to Washington D.C., time in the ROTC program, relationships with faculty members and athletic staff, experiences as a Black student-athlete on the football team, the relationships between Black students from the United States and Black international students, interactions with white students in housing and social life, how his time at the University of Richmond affected his professional career, and his passion for photography--which keeps him a staple at University of Richmond sporting events to this day.



Gregory Mitchell was born in Belton, Texas just outside of Ft. Hood. When his Step-Father retired from the the Army, he moved his family to Washington, DC where Greg attended DC public schools. While attending Anacostia High School, Greg was recruited to play football at UR. He played on both offense & defense for Coach Jim Tait. While attending UR he met Marilyn Branch who he later married and they have two adult children. Greg initially thought he wanted a career in law enforcement, but after briefly working in a juvenile correctional facility, he reached out to a UR alum and got an interview with Philip Morris, USA. He was hired as a line supervisor in a tobacco processing factory. He worked in several different positions, departments and plants within PMUSA and retired after 31 years with the company.
Since retirement, Greg has been able to return to his love of photography. He does sports photography for several local high schools and has been a volunteer sports photographer for UR for several years.

Click here to listen to his joint interview with his wife, Marilyn Branch-Mitchell.

This oral history is available for academic purposes--including but not limited to research by students, faculty, and staff--by permission from the interviewee (Greg Mitchell). The interviewee maintains the copyright, and must be contacted via the Race & Racism Project (urraceproject@gmail.com) for permissions for use outside of academic purposes.

MitchellGreg_d'Almeida-Perry-Roberson_Public_20180618.mp3

Richmond (Va.)

Greg Mitchell

Boatwright Memorial Library Seminar Room 2
University of Richmond
28 Westhampton Way, Richmond, VA 23173

41:02

June 18, 2018