THOMASVILLE- Daniel L. Inman, 87, the owner and operator of the first black-owned newspaper in Thomasville, has passed away.

Born in Quitman on March 27, 1937, Inman was a proud member of the African-American community. He worked tirelessly on numerous civil rights campaigns and highlighted the ongoing activities of African-Americans in his newspaper, The Thomasville News and the Tallahassee News.

The Thomasville News began in 1967 and ran through 1976, while the Tallahassee News predated the Capital Outlook newspaper. The Thomasville News included the following tagline in every issue “To Seek Out the Truth And Print It without Fear or Favor” demonstrating his commitment to the freedom of the press as an essential right and a core principle of democracy.

According to his daughter the Honorable Judge Danette Mincey, Inman didn’t have a background in newspapers. He attended Savannah State, and while he didn’t graduate, he found a lifelong passion for politics.

His love for politics quickly proved valuable, as Inman became a member of the National Newspaper Publishers Association while operating the Thomasville News. During his time on the NNPA, he had the opportunity to partake in a press contingent that met and interviewed President Lyndon B. Johnson and President Jimmy Carter.

“He is credited with being the first person in the Thomasville/Tallahassee area to ever meet a sitting president,” according to the Jack Hadley Black History Museum.

Inman would go on to have numerous other incredible opportunities through the NNPA, including traveling to Russia, an experience he would hold dear until his passing on January 8, 2025.

However, some of Inman’s proudest moments came with the civil rights movement.

“He participated in a number of civil rights marches in Atlanta and Thomasville, as well as surrounding areas,” Mincey said. “He marched alongside the late Martin Luther King Jr., Hosea Williams, Andrew Young, and Julian Bond.

He would go on to work alongside Hosea Williams on the Feed the Hunger Program in Atlanta, and volunteer on Maynard Jackson’s campaign for Mayor of Atlanta.

“He was involved in politics until the very end,” explained Mincey.

While in Thomasville, Inman was appointed as the chairman of the Executive Committee of the Georgia Voters League and the chairman of the Thomas County Voters League. Additionally, he was named as a committeeman of the county Democratic Party.

As part of the Democratic Party, Inman was the Southeastern Campaign Manager for then-candidate Shirley Chisholm. Chisholm was the first Black candidate for a major-party nomination for the President, and the first woman to run for the Democratic Party’s Presidential nomination. 

Inman’s son, John “Maurice” Inman vividly recalled his father’s work on the campaign, sharing his dad took he and his older brother to one of Chisholm’s political rallies in Thomasville. 

“He was involved for many years, doing everything he could, wherever he went,” said Maurice. 

Inman volunteered on a number of Democratic Presidential campaigns, including Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, and most recently Kamala Harris.

His passion for voting rights not only inspired those around Inman to vote, but left a lasting impression on Mincey, who now is a Federal Administrative Judge.

“My father’s life’s work founding the first Black-owned newspaper in Thomasville and championing civil rights was not just groundbreaking, but life-changing for countless individuals and communities,” she said. “He used his words as a weapon to fight against injustice, and his voice echoed as a call for equality during troubled times in America.

Mincey went on to say that her father’s legacy is the reason she understood her profound responsibility as a Federal Administrative Judge.

“He possessed an unwavering dedication to truth, justice, and the power of the human spirit by demonstrating that one individual truly has the power to change the world by inspiring others through their actions and ideas,” she concluded.