The Columbus Free Press

Reflections on Black History


Thomas Fleming

Thomas C. Fleming (1907-2006) was the nation's oldest and longest-running black journalist. For 61 years he wrote each week for the Sun-Reporter, San Francisco's African American weekly, which he co-founded in 1944. In 1997 he received the Career Achievement Award from the Society of Professional Journalists of Northern California. When he died, his memorial service was held in San Francisco City Hall.

Max Millard worked closely with Fleming for two years at the Sun-Reporter, and later spent 100 hours interviewing him on tape. Millard then transcribed and fact-checked the new material and blended it with Fleming's original writings to create the 86 columns on this page. Fleming did the final editing, and all the words are his.

For more information about Thomas Fleming, please go to http://www.maxmillard.com/blackhist.htm

by Thomas C. Fleming -His biography

Part 86: Black Radio Entertainers - Feb 18, 2003

Part 85: International House - Dec 15, 1999
Part 84: The National Negro Congress of 1936 - Sep 22, 1999
Part 83: The Black Cabinet - Sep 8, 1999
Part 82: Lionel Hampton, King of the Vibes - Aug 18, 1999
Part 81: Black society in the '30s - Aug 4, 1999
Part 80: Black boxing champions - Jul 21, 1999
Part 79: Rebels in the NAACP - Jul 7, 1999
Part 78: A party for Jesse Owens - Jun 23, 1999
Part 77: Carlton B. Goodlett, champion of the people - Jun 2, 1999
Part 76: Black attorneys and California politics - May 19, 1999
Part 75: Blacks and the labor movement - Apr 28, 1999
Part 74: Italy invades Africa - Apr 14, 1999
Part 73: Entertainment during the Depression - Mar 31, 1999
Part 72: "Raincoat" Jones, black businessman extraordinaire - Mar 17, 1999
Part 71: Langston Hughes goes to Russia - Mar 3, 1999
Part 70: Working for the WPA - Feb 17, 1999
Part 69: Sargent Johnson and the bohemian life - Feb 3, 1999
Part 68: Surviving the Depression - Jan 20, 1999
Part 67: Black communists in the 1930s - Jan 6, 1999
Part 66: Langston Hughes comes west - Dec 23, 1998
Part 65: The Great Strike of 1934 - Dec 16, 1998
Part 64: Herbert Hoover and black Republicans - Dec 9, 1998
Part 63: A lynching in San Jose - Dec 2, 1998
Part 62: Enrolling in college - Nov 25, 1998
Part 61: Senator Billy Knowland - Nov 18, 1998
Part 60: Separate but equal - Nov 11, 1998
Part 59: Black fraternities and sororities - Nov 4, 1998
Part 58: Getting an education - Oct 28, 1998
Part 57: The Depression begins - Oct 21, 1998
Part 56: Getting by on the railroad - Oct 14, 1998
Part 55: A Different World - Oct 7, 1998
Part 54: An Incident in Reno - Sep 30, 1998
Part 53: Deadheading to Portland - Sep 23, 1998
Part 52: Return to L.A. - Sep 16, 1998
Part 51: Job Status on the Railroad - Sep 9, 1998
Part 50: Riding the Freights - Sep 2, 1998
Part 49: Duke Ellington - Aug 26, 1998
Part 48: On to Chicago - Aug 19, 1998
Part 47: C. L. Dellums and Mr. Bojangles - Aug 12, 1998
Part 46: The Glory Days of Travel - Aug 5, 1998
Part 45: Misadventures on the Railroad - Jul 29, 1998
Part 44: Phil Randolph and the Pullman Porters - Jul 22, 1998
Part 43: Racial Attitudes on the Railroad - Jul 15, 1998
Part 42: The San Joaquin Flyer - Jul 8, 1998
Part 41: Joining the Union - Jul 1, 1998
Part 40: Fourth Cook on a Railroad Diner - Jun 24, 1998
Part 39: The Southern Pacific - Jun 17, 1998
Part 38: Oakland, Where the Trains Stopped - Jun 10, 1998
Part 37: The Railroad Ferry - Jun 3, 1998
Part 36: Last Days on Shipboard - May 27, 1998
Part 35: Los Angeles Bound - May 20, 1998
Part 34: Ships of the World - May 13, 1998
Part 33: Stopover in Seattle - May 6, 1998
Part 32: On the S.S. Emma Alexander - Apr 29, 1998
Part 31: The Admiral Line - Apr 22, 1998
Part 30: Finding Work - Apr 15, 1998
Part 29: Back to the City - Apr 8, 1998
Part 28: Burned Out - Apr 1, 1998
Part 27: To the Future - Mar 25, 1998
Part 26: Job Discrimination in the '20s - Mar 18, 1998
Part 25: A Jack of All Trades - Mar 11, 1998
Part 24: My Mother, the Domestic - Mar 4, 1998
Part 23: The Color Line - Feb 25, 1998
Part 22: The Agricultural Life - Feb 18, 1998
Part 21: California's First Black Politicians - Feb 11, 1998
Part 20: A Potential Race Riot - Feb 4, 1998
Part 19: The Great Experiment - Jan 28, 1998
Part 18: Black Musicians and Early Radio - Jan 21, 1998
Part 17: The Day President Harding Died - Jan 14, 1998
Part 16: The Black Press in the 1920s - Jan 7, 1998
Part 15: The Klan Marches in California - Dec 31, 1997
Part 14: Good Times in Chico - Dec 24, 1997
Part 13: Jim Crow in 1920s California - Dec 17, 1997
Part 12: Race Relations in a Small California Town - Dec 10, 1997
Why the Black Press is Still Needed - Dec 3, 1997
Part 11: Black Life in Rural California - Nov 26, 1997
Part 10: West to California - Nov 19, 1997
Part 9: Goodbye to New York - Nov 12, 1997
Part 8: Mischief-Making in Harlem - Nov 5, 1997
Part 7: The Rise of Black Professionals - Oct 29, 1997
Part 6: Encounters with Fats Waller - Oct 22, 1997
Part 5: Marcus Garvey Comes to Harlem - Oct 15, 1997
Part 4: Boyhood in Harlem, 1916-19 - Oct 8, 1997
Part 3: A Stowaway to New York - Oct 1, 1997
Part 2: Black Entertainers on Vaudeville - Sep 24, 1997
Part 1: Jacksonville, 1907-15 - Sep 17, 1997


Copyright © 1997-1999 by Thomas Fleming. Email.

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