Profession: Orator, Writer and Civil Rights Leader
Biography: Born into slavery, Timothy Thomas Fortune became a journalist, starting the newspaper "The New York Freeman", later "The New York Age" in 1884 in New York. The paper's influence made him the leading black journalist of the age.
Fortune was an effective social organizer. He was closely associated with Booker T. Washington for many years and was involved with a number of early civil rights organizations. He co-founded the National Afro-American League in 1890, revived into the National Afro-American Council in 1898. Fortune was a leading advocate for adopting Afro-American to identify black Americans, rejecting "Negro" and "Colored".
After a period of depression Fortune's career was turned around when he became editor of Marcus Garvey's newspaper "Negro World" in 1923.
Born: October 3, 1856
Birthplace: Marianna, Florida, USA
Star Sign: Libra
Historical Events
- 1890-01-25 National Afro-American League founded in Chicago by Timothy Thomas Fortune, one of earliest civil rights organizations in America
Biographies and Sources
- T. Thomas Fortune - T. Thomas Fortune Foundation
A. A. Milne
Jim Bouton
Thomas Paine
Dorothy Height
Marcus Garvey
Victoria Woodhull