Mitchell, Fred D.

Born in Lexington, KY, Fred D. Mitchell has been an activist, social worker, and community development leader in Lexington, Louisville, and Cincinnati. As a teen in Lexington, he legally challenged the breach of peace laws and segregation of public accommodations and led protests against school segregation. He was treasurer of the Lexington Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) and led the Young African Americans for Progress. In the 1970s, Mitchell moved to Louisville and became the city's first paid alderman assistant (to Lois Morris). As a social work student, he was instrumental in establishing the University of Louisville chapter of the National Association of Black Social Workers. Mitchell was also the first African American director of the Wesley Community House [founded in 1903 by the United Methodist Church to provide social welfare and other services in the Butchertown, Phoenix Hill, and Clarksdale areas]. Mitchell was also employed by Community Action of Southern Indiana.

Fred D. Mitchell has served on the Jefferson County School Board. He earned his bachelor's degree from Kentucky State University and his master's degree from the University of Louisville. Mitchell was the publisher of Black Journal Magazine in Louisville, KY. The Courier-Journal in Louisville, KY, named him one of the city's "Bridge Builders." 

For more see The Lexington Herald-Leader, August 17-18, 1967, and Sept. 5 & 7, 1967; and the Courier-Journal, Jan. 29, 1992, July 28, 1993, Jan. 1, 1997, and April 11, 2004. See Larry Muhammad, "Newsstand News: BJ, a new Louisville magazine, aims for a black audience," The Courier-Journal, Features Section, 2000, pp.D1 & D3.