Damon Ireland Thomas (1875-1955) was an American stage performer, newspaper columnist, and theater manager. An influential film critic, he wrote for ''

The Chicago Defender ''The Chicago Defender'' is a Chicago-based online African-American newspaper. It was founded in 1905 by Robert S. Abbott and was once considered the "most important" newspaper of its kind. Abbott's newspaper reported and campaigned against Jim ...

'' in 1920s, reviewing Black film and events at African American theaters. Thomas managed the successful Lincoln Theater in

Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the List of municipalities in South Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint of South Carolina's coastline on Charleston Harbor, an inlet of the Atla ...

, which served African American audiences from 1922 until his death in 1955. He also managed the Bijou Theater in

Tampa, Florida Tampa ( ) is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. Tampa's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and t ...

and another theater in

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas, Ireland American film critics American columnists American theatre managers and producers African-American writers 1875 births 1955 deaths 20th-century African-American people