Robert Fleming

Robert Fleming photo

Robert Fleming is a Top 100 AALBC.com Bestselling Author Making Our List 13 Times

Robert Fleming Photo B&W Interested in psychology and sociology, I came to writing as a fluke in the early 1970s when a friend, Willard Jenkins, allowed me to sub for him as a music writer at a local magazine in Cleveland. Reading had always been a favorite pastime for me, but writing was something I never imagined myself doing. While studying full-time for a degree in psychology at night at a local college, I worked fulltime during the day as a welfare case worker, squeezing time in doing interviews with people like Duke Ellington, Miles Davis, Sarah Vaughan, Minnie Riperton, Ray Charles, Bob Marley, and a host of other jazz and pop greats. Like many writers, my first love was poetry and I published two books of poems, Melons (1974) and Stars (1975).

It wasn’t until I came to New York as a young writer that a whole realm of possibilities opened for me in that area. I landed my first real writing job at Encore Magazine, a pioneering black newsmagazine in 1977, working as an associate editor. Despite hassles with pay, the experience at the publication was extremely beneficial, giving me a chance to work with such talents as Nikki Giovanni, Ivan Webster, Paula Giddins, and Henry Jackson. I worked on hard news stories, such as the involuntary sterilization of young black women in several southern states, political corruption on a national level, the nuclear accident at Three Mile Island, medical experiments conducted on black patients at several East Coast medical sites, and the spate of police brutality cases nationwide. In 1979, I did one story which would change my life: a car tour of the Deep South, where I interviewed poor black families in rural Alabama and Mississippi, spoke with plantation owners in Georgia and Louisiana about their abuse of their black tenant farmers, and conducted a late night talk with a group of hooded Klansmen outside of Anniston, Alabama. This series got me some notice and earned me a scholarship to Columbia University’s noted School of Journalism.

After my tour of duty at the “J School,” I worked for a time with former CBS News president, Fred Friendly, former boss of the legendary Edward R. Morrow, as a staff writer for the PBS TV show, Media and Society. A chance meeting at one of the show’s taping got me a job as a reporter at The New York Daily News, where I worked throughout the 1980s and into the 1990s. While there, I learned the world of hard New York news from the street up, earning a New York Press Club, award, a Revson Fellowship, and several other honors. I retired at the end of 1991 to write and teach. Since that time, I’ve published work in Essence, Black Enterprise, The Source, U.S. News and World Report, Omni, Black Issues Book Review, Bookpage, Quarterly Black Review, The New York Times and Publishers Weekly.

If you have skills in a discipline, pass that along to those who want to acquire that talent. I taught writing and media studies at Marist College, and The College of New Rochelle for a time. Also, I taught courses in “Media And The Black Experience,” “Hard And Soft News Journalism for A New World,” and “African-American Film History before The Cold War” at the New School in 1999-2002. Recently, I instructed local college teachers in literacy educational strategies at CUNY.

In the early 1990s, I wrote two young adult books: Rescuing A Neighborhood: The Bedford-Stuyvesant Volunteer Ambulance Corps and The Success of Caroline Jones, Inc.: The Story Of An Advertising Agency. Two other books followed: The Wisdom of the Elders (1996) and The African American Writer’s Handbook (2000), both of which were selected by The Black Expressions Book Club.

Other books by Fleming included: After Hours (2002), Intimacy (2004), Havoc After Dark (2004), Fever In The Blood (2006), Gift Of Faith (2012), Gift Of Truth (2014), Gift of Revelation (2015), Free Jazz (2016), and Rasta, Babylon, Jamming (2017).

My poetry, essays and short stories have appeared in such books as UpSouth, Brotherman: The Odyssey of the Black Man in America, Sacred Fire, In Search of Color Everywhere, Dark Matter, Brown Sugar, Gumbo, and Proverbs For The People. In the works are a memoir, a book on prison reform, and a collection of short fiction, Evil Never Sleeps.

Recently, I came upon a quote from the Senegalese writer Aminata Sow Fall that sums up my goals as a writer:

The African writer cannot and must not take pen in hand merely to offer pretty expressions and phrases. As the product of a society that has its problems, he must create work so that each person becomes completely aware of them, so that people think of them, and look for their solutions, for that is what it means to be a committed writer, then that is what I am. Our literature must raise issues that summon me to devise solutions to problems that are specifically ours, problems which, although existing in other places, take on a special dimension in our country.”

This is what I’ve tried from the moment I first started submitting my work to publishers and will continue to do until I no longer write, which I hope is never.

Fleming explains his penchant for spirituality and how he overcame a series of challenges to produce the popular line of religious fiction.

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Robert Fleming has Written 136 Book Review(s) for AALBC.com
  1. A Night In Babylon by Michael West
  2. African Rhythms: The Autobiography Of Randy Weston by Randy Weston and Willard Jenkins
  3. Ain’t But a Few of Us: Black Music Writers Tell Their Story by Willard Jenkins
  4. Am I Not A Man - The Dred Scott Story by Mark L. Shurtleff
  5. American Imam: From Pop Stardom to Prison Abolition by Taymullah Abdur-Rahman
  6. Andrew Billingsley Scholar and Institution Builder: Essays and Tributes by Charles Jarmon
  7. ASCLEPIUS by Christopher M. Rutledge
  8. Beasts Of No Nation: A Novel by Uzodinma Iweala
  9. Before the Streetlights Come on: Black America’s Urgent Call for Climate Solutions by Heather McTeer Toney
  10. Behind the Dark Veil by Carolyn Holland
  11. Black Folk Could Fly: Selected Writings by Randall Kenan
  12. Black Food: Stories, Art, and Recipes from Across the African Diaspora by Bryant Terry
  13. Black Hands White House: Slave Labor and the Making of America by Renee K. Harrison
  14. Black Pulp by Walter Mosley, Christopher Chambers, Michael A. Gonzales, Gar Anthony Haywood, Ron Fortier, Joe R. Lansdale, Gary Phillips, Mel Odom, Tommy Hancock, D. Alan Lewis, Derrick Ferguson, and Kimberly Richardson
  15. Blend In or Fade Out by Colnese M. Hendon
  16. Blue in Green by Wesley Brown
  17. Book of Letters by Mary J. Taylor
  18. Chasing Me to My Grave: An Artist’s Memoir of the Jim Crow South by Winfred Rembert with Erin I. Kelly
  19. City Son: Andrew W. Cooper’s Impact On Modern-Day Brooklyn by Wayne Dawkins
  20. Conversations With Octavia Butler by Conseula Francis
  21. Corridors of Genius: Excavating the Consciousness, Creative Process & Artistry of Michael Jackson by Glenda R. Taylor
  22. Cowards And Angels by Aileen Muhammad
  23. Darkest America: Black Minstrelsy From Slavery To Hip-Hop by Yuval Taylor and Jake Austen
  24. Dear Revolutionaries: A Field Guide for a World beyond the Church by Lenny Duncan
  25. Delightfulee: The Life And Music Of Lee Morgan (Jazz Perspectives) by Jeff Mcmillan
  26. Destini the Chocolate Princess by Joan Wright Lewis
  27. Digging: The Afro-American Soul Of American Classical Music by Amiri Baraka
  28. Dr. No by Percival Everett
  29. Duende: Poems, 1966—Now by Quincy Troupe
  30. Eight Minutes Of Heaven by Travis English
  31. Every Man a King: A King Oliver Novel by Walter Mosley
  32. Flesh: The Disappearance Of Portia Barrington by Keith Lee Johnson
  33. For the Sake of Soul by Frederick K. Foote, Jr.
  34. Gathering Blossoms Under Fire: The Journals of Alice Walker by Alice Walker and Valerie Boyd (editor)
  35. Going Home In Chains by Glenville Lovell
  36. Hand-Me-Down Dreams by Phillip Wilhite
  37. His Name Is George Floyd: One Man’s Life and the Struggle for Racial Justice by Robert Samuels and Toluse Olorunnipa
  38. I Always Knew: A Memoir by Barbara Chase-Riboud
  39. I Am Debra Lee: A Memoir by Debra Lee
  40. I Am New Orleans: 36 Poets Revisit Marcus Christian’s Definitive Poem by Kalamu ya Salaam
  41. I Love My People by Kim Singleton
  42. I Missed the Bus, But I Arrived On Time! by Willis L. Drake
  43. In Spite of the Consequences: Prison Letters on Exoneration, Abolition, and Freedom by Lacino Hamilton
  44. In The House Of The Interpreter: A Memoir by Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o
  45. In The Words Of Nelson Mandela by Jennifer Crwys-Williams
  46. Ingleside: Based on a True Story by Laura Jackson
  47. It Was The Devil All Along by Avalon Soulette Brown
  48. It’s All Love: Black Writers On Soul Mates, Family And Friends by Marita Golden
  49. Jacob’s Ghetto by Travis Peagler
  50. Just As I Am by Cicely Tyson
  51. Kabu Kabu by Nnedi Okorafor
  52. Kingston Noir (Akashic Noir) by Colin Channer
  53. Leading Inclusion: Drive Change Your Employees Can See and Feel by Gena Cox
  54. Legend of the Orange Scepter by M. Haynes
  55. Life: Four Quarters Plus Overtime by Floyd L. Griffin Jr.
  56. Look for Me and I’ll Be Gone: Stories by John Edgar Wideman
  57. Love Bones by Ron Oliphant
  58. Love in the Age of Dragons by Fatima R. Henson
  59. Malcolm X: A Life Of Reinvention by Manning Marable
  60. Mary Wells: The Tumultuous Life Of Motown’s First Superstar by Peter Benjaminson
  61. Material Witness: The Drew Smith Series (Book 3) by Norwood Holland
  62. Men We Reaped by Jesmyn Ward
  63. Merritt Magic by Melinda Merritt
  64. Miss Chloe: A Literary Friendship with Toni Morrison by A.J. Verdelle
  65. My Song: A Memoir by Harry Belafonte and Michael Shnayerson
  66. No Surrender: Poems by Ai Ogawa
  67. Oil And Water...And Other Things That Don’t Mix by Nicky Wheeler Brown and Zetta Brown
  68. Palmares by Gayl Jones
  69. Panorama: The Missing Chapter: From the Memoir Views from the Cockpit by Ross Victory
  70. Paris in May by D. A. Grey
  71. Path of the Half Moon by Vince Bailey
  72. Penitentiary Tales: A Love Story by EA Luetkemeyer
  73. Poetic Perceptions by D Phil
  74. Post-Traumatic by Chantal V. Johnson
  75. Priscilla: Engaging in the Game of Politics by M. J. Simms-Maddox
  76. Raceball: How The Major Leagues Colonized The Black And Latin Game by Rob Ruck
  77. Read Until You Understand: The Profound Wisdom of Black Life and Literature by Farah Jasmine Griffin
  78. Reflections of an Anxious African American Dad by Eric L. Heard
  79. Reversal of Trends: A Black Man’s Journey across the Mason-Dixon Line by Leroy Wilson
  80. Russell Atkins: On the Life & Work of an American Master by Kevin Prufer
  81. Sankofa University: Studying African-Centered History and Culture by Burnett Kwadwo Gallman
  82. Searching for Agabus: Embracing Authenticity and Finding Your Way to You by Michael Walrond
  83. Seaside Stories by S. R. Martin Jr.
  84. Sellout by James W. Lewis
  85. Seven Full Days by Ferris Shelton
  86. Sincerely Speaking Spiritually by Joseph S. Spence
  87. Solving The Race Issue In America by H. J. Harris
  88. Something Like Beautiful: One Single Mother’s Story by asha bandele
  89. Spirituality, Racism, and the Phantom: Tranquil Skies; The Mystique of Flight by James T. Hollin, Jr.
  90. Squirrels & Puppies: Dark Morality Tales by Russell A. Mebane
  91. The African Lookbook: A Visual History of 100 Years of African Women by Catherine E. McKinley
  92. The Arc of Truth: The Thinking of Martin Luther King Jr. by Lewis V. Baldwin
  93. The Bedroom: An Everlasting Love Story by Sonya Dunn
  94. The Birdcatcher by Gayl Jones
  95. The Black Agenda by Glen Ford
  96. The Black Clergy’s Misguided Worship Leadership: Petition: No More Idol Gods for Black People by Christopher C. Bell Jr.
  97. The Chitlin’ Circuit: And The Road To Rock &rsquoN&rsquo Roll by Preston Lauterbach
  98. The Clan of Southern Man by John Valentine
  99. The Darkling by Keoni Anderson
  100. The Gem Connection by Michael R. Lane
  101. The Gods of the Bacteria: The World Before Darwin by Billy Z. Earley
  102. The Henry Louis Gates, Jr. Reader by Henry Louis Gates, Jr.
  103. The Juju Girl by Nikki Marsh
  104. The King of No: A Financial Firefighter by Loyall Wilson
  105. The Last Love Letter by Amanda Easton
  106. The Love Ethic: The Reason Why You Can’t Find and Keep Beautiful Black Love by Akilah Butler and Kamau Butler
  107. The Lurking Place by Clarence Major
  108. The Manual: A Guide To Achievement & Enlightment In The Urban Community by James Bennett Jr.
  109. The Memory Librarian: And Other Stories of Dirty Computer by Janelle Monáe
  110. The Miseducation of Obi Ifeanyi by Chinedu Achebe
  111. The Monkeybars Of Life by Ted Pittman
  112. The New Age of Empire: How Racism and Colonialism Still Rule the World by Kehinde Andrews
  113. The Pursuit of Porsha: How My Journey to Happiness Can Help You Find Yours by Porsha Williams
  114. The Rise of Rage: Harnessing the Most Misunderstood Emotion by Julie A. Christiansen
  115. The Sons Of Shea by Dame DaVohn
  116. The Summer of my Fifteenth Year by Geri Spencer Hunter
  117. The Third Verse by Jerry Canada
  118. The Wake Up Call: Financial Inspiration Learned from 4:44 by Ash Cash
  119. Thelonious Monk: The Life And Times Of An American Original by Robin D. G. Kelley
  120. Three Days Before The Shooting… by Ralph Ellison
  121. Toni Morrison’s Spiritual Vision: Faith, Folktales, and Feminism in Her Life and Literature by Nadra Nittle
  122. Unchon-ni: South Korea, I Remember 1962-63 by Codis Hampton II
  123. Under the Skin: The Hidden Toll of Racism on American Lives and on the Health of Our Nation by Linda Villarosa
  124. Vice President Kamala Harris: Her Path to the White House by Malaika Adero
  125. Victory Is Assured: Uncollected Writings of Stanley Crouch by Stanley Crouch
  126. Well Considered by Richard Morris
  127. What Love Feels Like by F. Y. Dawn
  128. What Makes You Come Alive: A Spiritual Walk with Howard Thurman by Lerita Coleman Brown
  129. When Frogs Grow Feet by G. Louis Jackson
  130. When I Left Home: My Story by Buddy Guy
  131. Why I Sued the Bible Publishers by Bradley Fowler
  132. Will by Will Smith
  133. With Billie by Julia Blackburn
  134. Z-Rated: Chocolate Flava 3 by Zane
  135. Zodiac Saga 2 The Balance of Power by Kaitlyn McKnight
  136. Zone One: A Novel by Colson Whitehead
Robert Fleming Has Written 1 Article(s) for AALBC.com
Robert Fleming Has Conducted 3 Interview(s) for AALBC.com

11 Books by Robert Fleming