Fleming Alexander facts for kids
Fleming Emory Alexander (born April 14, 1888 – died December 13, 1980) was an important minister, businessman, and newspaper publisher. He started and ran the Roanoke Tribune newspaper in Roanoke, Virginia. This newspaper became one of the longest-running black newspapers in the United States. Alexander was also a strong supporter of ending segregation, which was the separation of people based on race.
Fleming Alexander's Early Life
Fleming Alexander was born on April 14, 1888, in Christiansburg, Virginia. When his mother passed away, he and his eight brothers and sisters were separated. They were raised by different foster parents, including the Alexander family, who gave him their last name. He never knew his birth parents, and his last name as a child was "Poor."
Alexander became a Baptist minister. He led churches in places like Rustburg, Virginia, Christiansburg, and Buchanan, Virginia. While he was the minister at Schaeffer Baptist Church in Christiansburg, he started the Roanoke Tribune.
He learned how to print newspapers in Kentucky. Later, he worked for newspapers across the Southern United States. Before moving to Roanoke, he worked at the Atlanta Daily World and the Louisburg Reporter. During World War I, he served in France. After the war, he returned to Lynchburg, Virginia. There, he ran his own printing business and taught printing at the Virginia Theological Seminary.
In 1939, Fleming Alexander moved to Roanoke, Virginia. Even though it was during the Great Depression, a very tough economic time, he bravely started the Roanoke Tribune. This newspaper was the only one in Western Virginia owned by an African American. It focused on news important to the black community.
The Roanoke Tribune Newspaper
Fleming E. Alexander founded the Roanoke Tribune newspaper in 1939. It started at 5 Gilmer Avenue in Roanoke, then moved to 312 Henry Street, and later to Melrose Avenue. As an African-American newspaper, it played a big role in fighting against the Jim Crow laws in Roanoke and Western Virginia. These laws enforced racial segregation.
The Tribune also pushed for black people to have a voice on Roanoke's public boards. It also worked to get better schools for black children in the segregated South. The newspaper was published every Saturday. It included local news, as well as news from across the state, the country, and the world.
The Tribune quickly took a stand against segregation. Its motto on the front page proudly said: "Only Negro newspaper published in South Western Virginia." The newspaper had a clear goal:
- To help people feel good about themselves.
- To encourage respect for oneself and for differences in others.
- To help create ways for different people to come together.
In 1971, after a car accident, Alexander's health declined. He then sold the Roanoke Tribune to his daughter, Claudia Alexander Whitworth. The Roanoke Tribune celebrated its 75th anniversary on April 9, 2014.
Fighting for Desegregation in Schools
Fleming Alexander was an early supporter of ending segregation in Virginia's schools. After the important Brown v. Topeka Board of Education decision, which said that separate schools for black and white children were illegal, Alexander strongly pushed for Virginia's schools to desegregate.
He was one of five black leaders in Virginia who met with Governor Thomas B. Stanley. They discussed how the Brown decision would affect Virginia. Governor Stanley wanted to keep schools separate, but Alexander argued against it.
Early on, the Roanoke Tribune fought against a program called "massive resistance." This program tried to block schools from integrating racially in Virginia. Powerful political groups, like the Byrd Organization, supported this resistance.
However, Alexander also believed that integration should happen carefully, not too quickly. This sometimes led to disagreements with other black leaders in Roanoke.
Fleming Alexander passed away on December 13, 1980, in New York City. He is buried at Roselawn Cemetery in Christiansburg, Virginia.
