Lethia Cousins Fleming | |
---|---|
Born | Lethia Cousins November 7, 1876 |
Died | September 22, 1963
Cleveland, Ohio, US | (aged 86)
Burial place | Lake View Cemetery |
Known for | Suffragist, teacher, social worker, civil rights activist, politician |
Spouse | Thomas Wallace Fleming (married 1912) |
Lethia Cousins Fleming (November 7, 1876 – September 22, 1963) was an African-American suffragist, teacher, social worker, civil rights activist, and she was active in Republican politics at both local and national levels. [1] [2]
She was born as Lethia Cousins on November 7, 1876, in Tazewell, Virginia, to James Archibald Cousins and Fannie Taylor Cousins. [3] [2] Her father was Black and born free, he served in the Confederate Army and after was a brick mason. [4] Fleming was the oldest of eight children in her family, she attended high school in Ironton, Virginia. [2] [4]
Fleming attended Morristown College in Tennessee; and Bluefield State College in West Virginia; where she studied education. [2] [5] She taught in schools in Virginia, then in McDowell and Cabell counties in West Virginia. [4]
On February 21, 1912, Lethia Cousins and Thomas "Tom" Wallace Fleming (1874–1948) married. [3] [6] Tom was a lawyer and at that time had served one term as Cleveland city councilman, the marriage to Lethia was his second. [2] [7] [8] [9] The couple never had children, and Thomas had three children from his first marriage which Lethia helped raise. [3] [2] She had interest in the Baha'i Faith. [3]
In 1914, Lethia Fleming was chair the Board of Lady Managers of the Cleveland Home for Aged Colored People. [3] She took charge and directed a campaign effort among African-American women to vote for her husband Tom Fleming during the 1915 campaign for a City Council Seat from Ward 11. [9]
Starting in 1920, Fleming directed national campaign efforts among Black women for three Republican presidential candidates, Warren G. Harding (1920), Herbert Hoover (1936), and Alfred M. Landon (1940). [3]
In 1929, Fleming made an attempt to run for a seat in the Cleveland city council, after her husband had been imprisoned. [3]
From 1931 until 1951, she worked as a social worker at the Cuyahoga County Child Welfare Board. [3]
Fleming was member of organizations including Travelers Aid Society, the Cleveland office of National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), and the Phillis Wheatley Association. [3] She was on the first board for the Negro Welfare Association (now the National Urban League). [3] [10] Fleming was the first female to be a trustee at Mt. Zion Congregational Church in Cleveland. [3] [11]
She died on September 22, 1963, in Cleveland and is buried at Lake View Cemetery. [2] [12]
Lethia Cousins Fleming | |
---|---|
Born | Lethia Cousins November 7, 1876 |
Died | September 22, 1963
Cleveland, Ohio, US | (aged 86)
Burial place | Lake View Cemetery |
Known for | Suffragist, teacher, social worker, civil rights activist, politician |
Spouse | Thomas Wallace Fleming (married 1912) |
Lethia Cousins Fleming (November 7, 1876 – September 22, 1963) was an African-American suffragist, teacher, social worker, civil rights activist, and she was active in Republican politics at both local and national levels. [1] [2]
She was born as Lethia Cousins on November 7, 1876, in Tazewell, Virginia, to James Archibald Cousins and Fannie Taylor Cousins. [3] [2] Her father was Black and born free, he served in the Confederate Army and after was a brick mason. [4] Fleming was the oldest of eight children in her family, she attended high school in Ironton, Virginia. [2] [4]
Fleming attended Morristown College in Tennessee; and Bluefield State College in West Virginia; where she studied education. [2] [5] She taught in schools in Virginia, then in McDowell and Cabell counties in West Virginia. [4]
On February 21, 1912, Lethia Cousins and Thomas "Tom" Wallace Fleming (1874–1948) married. [3] [6] Tom was a lawyer and at that time had served one term as Cleveland city councilman, the marriage to Lethia was his second. [2] [7] [8] [9] The couple never had children, and Thomas had three children from his first marriage which Lethia helped raise. [3] [2] She had interest in the Baha'i Faith. [3]
In 1914, Lethia Fleming was chair the Board of Lady Managers of the Cleveland Home for Aged Colored People. [3] She took charge and directed a campaign effort among African-American women to vote for her husband Tom Fleming during the 1915 campaign for a City Council Seat from Ward 11. [9]
Starting in 1920, Fleming directed national campaign efforts among Black women for three Republican presidential candidates, Warren G. Harding (1920), Herbert Hoover (1936), and Alfred M. Landon (1940). [3]
In 1929, Fleming made an attempt to run for a seat in the Cleveland city council, after her husband had been imprisoned. [3]
From 1931 until 1951, she worked as a social worker at the Cuyahoga County Child Welfare Board. [3]
Fleming was member of organizations including Travelers Aid Society, the Cleveland office of National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), and the Phillis Wheatley Association. [3] She was on the first board for the Negro Welfare Association (now the National Urban League). [3] [10] Fleming was the first female to be a trustee at Mt. Zion Congregational Church in Cleveland. [3] [11]
She died on September 22, 1963, in Cleveland and is buried at Lake View Cemetery. [2] [12]