T. Thomas Fortune

Lore & Background

Fortune was born into slavery in Marianna, Florida. After emancipation, his father Emanuel became involved in Florida politics and secured Fortune a role as a page in the Florida Legislature, where he developed an interest in politics and a distrust of white politicians. He learned the printer's trade, briefly attended Howard University, worked as a printer in Washington D.C., and married Carrie C. Smiley. He moved to New York City in 1881 and took editorial oversight of the Rumor, which became The New York Globe. His editorials gained him a reputation as an agitator for his advocacy of African Americans defending themselves with force if needed. He later edited the New York Freeman and the Age. In the 1890s, Fortune developed a strong friendship with Booker T. Washington and helped promote his aims, ghostwriting Washington's publications while writing for the Age. Washington propped up the Age with loans and paid stories. Fortune's health declined in the late 1890s, and he developed a reliance on alcohol. He suffered a mental health crisis in 1907 and sold his stake in the Age, ending his relationship with Washington. He became destitute, freelancing for various publications, and assumed the editorship of the Negro World in 1923, holding the position until his death in 1928.

Reader's Guide

Fortune's significance lies in his role as a pioneering African American journalist who used his editorial platform to address racial injustices, criticize both Democratic and Republican politicians, argue against monopolies, and advocate for class solidarity and self-defense. He was a founding member of key civil rights organizations: the National Afro-American League, the National Afro-American Council, and the National Negro Business League. His work influenced public discourse on race and economics, though his relationship with Booker T. Washington created tensions between his personal beliefs and his professional actions. After his death, he was eulogized as the 'dean of Negro journalists' and his work as 'the voice of the Negro.' His legacy includes his militant editorial style and his contributions to the African American press.

Did You Know?

• Fortune was born into slavery in Marianna, Florida, on October 3, 1856.
• He learned the printer's trade as a legislative page in the Florida Senate and at the Tallahassee Sentinel.
• Fortune ghostwrote publications for Booker T. Washington while writing for The New York Age.
• He was a founding member of the National Afro-American League, National Afro-American Council, and National Negro Business League.