Journalist Thomas C. Fleming (1907-2006) was born on November 29, 1907 in Jacksonville, Florida. He was raised by his grandmother in Jacksonville until 1916, when he moved to New York City to live with his father, a Pullman porter, before moving to Chico, California to live with his mother in 1919. After graduating from Chico High School in 1926, he worked as a cook and bellhop for the Southern Pacific Railroad. During the 1930s, he began working for the San Francisco Black newspaper, The Spokesman, while taking journalism classes at Chico State College.
Fleming was hired as the founding editor of the African American newspaper The Reporter in 1944, which quickly merged with Carlton B. Goodlett’s newspaper The Sun, to become The Sun-Reporter. He worked as managing editor and lead reporter for the Sun-Reporter for over 33 years until his retirement in 1997 at the age of 89. In retirement, he worked on his memoir which was collected in his 1997 publication Reflections on black history.
The Thomas C. Fleming papers include photographs, certificates, programs, manuscripts, and newspaper clippings documenting his life and career as a journalist.
Guide to the Thomas C. Fleming Papers
Available at the African American Museum & Library at Oakland (AAMLO)
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