William B. Branch

William Blackwell Branch is an African-American playwright who has also been involved in many aspects of entertainment, including journalism, media production, editing, a short-lived career acting for television as well as talking on the radio. He has "written, directed, and produced extensively for the stage, television, radio, and his own media consulting and production firm".

William Blackwell Branch was born September 11, 1927, to James Matthew Branch, an African Methodist Episcopal Zion minister, and Iola Douglas Branch, in New Haven Connecticut.

Branch attended high schools in Charlotte, North Carolina, and Washington, D.C. He went on to earn his undergraduate degree in Science at Northwestern University in 1949, then continued his education at Columbia University, graduating with his M.F.A. in dramatic arts in 1958. Branch later studied at Yale University, after which he taught at Cornell University and William Paterson College from 1994 to 1996, before beginning a career in entertainment, focusing specifically drama.

Branch involved himself in the entertainment world because he "became convinced that only African Americans could truthfully write and produce theater about African Americans." His first play was A Medal for Willie, written when he was 27. It launched Branch's career, leading to success and much recognition for his work. His writing characteristically "deals with the place and recognition of the African American in pre-civil rights America." He pointed out how American society was flawed in its treatment African Americans, and "the irony of the black soldier fighting for the freedom of others in another country and yet being denied those same basic freedoms and rights in his own country." Branch also highlighted racial stereotypes, allowing audiences to see the lies behind the stereotypes about African Americans.

Other issues featured in his work include feminism and familial relations. His play Baccalaureate: Drama in Three Acts is about a young African-American female in a middle-class family, discussing the struggles she faces when it came to education. Through his plays, such as In Splendid Error (1954) which tells in part the story of Frederick Douglas and his relationship with John Brown, A Wreath for Udomo (1961), Fifty Steps Toward Freedom (1970), and A Medal for Willie (1985), Branch explored and demonstrated societal problems in the unfair treatment of African Americans. He explained through these plays how wrongly African Americans were represented and the struggles faced by African Americans within the middle class.

...
Wikipedia