John E. Fleming, a museum leader and scholar of African American history, passed away on September 12. He was 81 years old.
A native of Morganton, North Carolina, Dr. Fleming earned his bachelor’s degree from Berea College in Kentucky. After graduation, he served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Malawi in Africa. He returned to the United States to work for Pride Inc. and as a program analyst for the U.S. Civil Rights Commission. He then decided to pursue advanced studies, ultimately earning his master’s degree and doctorate in American history from historically Black Howard University in Washington, D.C., where he was a fellow at Howard’s Institute for the Study of Educational Policy.
In 1980, Dr. Fleming began his museum career as a project director with the Ohio Historical Society’s Afro-American Museum. He went on to hold prominent leadership roles with several national museums, including founding director of the National Afro-American Museum and Cultural Center in Wilberforce, Ohio, and chief operating officer of the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center in Cincinnati. He had a stint as director of the Cincinnati Museum Center and as an adjunct professor of history at the University of Cincinnati.
Over the course of his career, Dr. Fleming helped establish six museums, including the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum and the National Museum of African American Music. He was also the author of multiple books, including The Case for Affirmative Action for Blacks in Higher Education (Howard University Press, 1978).
As a leader in his field, Dr. Fleming served as president of the Ohio Museums Association, the Association for the Study of African American Life and History, and the Association of African American Museums, which dedicated its lifetime achievement award in his honor.
