Biography
Early Life
Lethia Cousins Fleming was a national political and social activist who was appointed the first woman trustee of Mt. Zion Congregational Church.
She was born to James and Fannie Cousins in Tazwell County Virginia on November 7, 1876. She received her teaching credentials from Morristown College in the 1890s and as a young woman, she taught at schools in West Virginia and Virginia.
In 1912, she married Thomas Fleming, a widower with three children. He was also the first African American elected to the Cleveland City Council. She moved to his hometown in Ohio and become an influential local and national leader.
As a political activist in the Republican Party, she worked as a campaign manager and advisor for her husband. She successfully contributed to his re-election for consecutive terms on the City Council until 1929.
Political Activist
Fleming worked as a suffragist to enfranchise African American women. In the 1930s, Fleming increased her activities in social welfare organizations that benefited vulnerable members of African American communities.
Fleming had been a long-time supporter of the Phyllis Wheatley Association settlement home, and became a founder of the Cleveland Negro Welfare Association (now known as the Urban League of Greater Cleveland) in 1917.
She was also appointed as the Executive Board Chair of the National Association of Colored Women, and contributed her valuable leadership and fundraising skills to organizations like the NAACP, National Negro History Association, and National Council of Negro Women.
Socially, she became a member of the Elks. She was so respected that she was elected as the organization’s Grand Daughter Ruler in 1940.
Religious Leadership
Fleming’s faith was a central driving force behind all of her political, social, and philanthropic endeavors. She cemented her leadership roles by galvanizing the support of religious leaders and engaging with church congregations like the Mt. Zion Congregational Church.
As part of the United Church of Christ denomination, Mt. Zion was the first in the denomination organized in the mid-west in June 1864. Fleming served as the first woman on the Board of Trustees. Effectively disrupting the all-male leadership and opening the door for future women leaders.
Though she had been introduced to the Baha’i Faith in her earlier life, it was not until the 1950s that she fully embraced the religion.
Before her death in 1963, she was recognized for her many contributions to Cleveland and African Americans. Lethia Cousins Fleming’s life-long commitment to education, political empowerment, and service was inspired by her faithful dedication.
