Publisher of L.A. Sentinel Dies at Age 68

Kenneth Thomas, the publisher and chief executive officer of the Los Angeles Sentinel--the largest African American-owned newspaper in the West--died Friday morning. He was 68.

A Sentinel spokesman said Thomas died of respiratory failure after being hospitalized twice since Sept. 4 for two aneurysms.

“As publisher, he was dedicated to ensuring that the Sentinel was a crusader on behalf of the African American community,” said John Mack, Los Angeles Urban League president. “Under his leadership, the Sentinel was a voice for the voiceless, an important institution in our community that made sure that the story of the black experience was told in its totality.”

Thomas headed the Sentinel since the mid-1980s when he took control of the weekly newspaper, which was saddled with huge debts.

The Sentinel, which had slipped in recent years to a small fraction of its peak circulation of 56,000 in the 1960s, was founded in 1933 by civil rights activist Leon Washington. Washington died in 1974 and passed the paper to his wife, Ruth.

In 1983, she placed Thomas, her longtime attorney, in control. He agreed to pay the debts and keep the paper afloat. As part of the deal, she received a lifetime contract as publisher and some income from real estate.

Family members challenged the arrangement. But in 1987, a Los Angeles Superior Court judge resolved the dispute, ruling that Washington had rightfully inherited the paper and could legally do with it as she wished.

The paper remained under Thomas’ control as chief executive--with Washington as publisher. Thomas took over the helm of publisher after her death.

In 1993, Thomas cited the dramatic shift in South Los Angeles population as a primary reason for moving the Sentinel from its historic offices on East 43rd Street and Central Avenue to a new 7,000-square-foot building at 3800 Crenshaw Blvd., today the hub of Los Angeles’ black community.

Central Avenue had never recovered economically from the 1965 Watts riots, and the unrest in 1992 made matters worse. African Americans were moving west as the area became increasingly Latino.

“Demographics demand that we make the move,” Thomas said at the time.

“Our economic survival is dependent on our staying in touch with that constituency we serve and that constituency is no longer on Central Avenue.”

The move was not enough to put the paper on a stronger economic footing. Working conditions were often described as harsh. Staff turnover was high, even though the paper had a reputation for giving many young black writers a start.

“He was always willing to help young journalists trying to make it in the industry, and other businesses too,” said James Bolden, a former Sentinel reporter. For the most part, Bolden said, “my policy was to stay out of his way and do my job.”

Thomas was a member of several bar associations in California and Ohio. He also was a former vice president of the Los Angeles Trial Lawyers Assn. and the National Lawyers Guild. He served as an advisor to the Los Angeles Fair Housing Counsel and the NAACP. He was also a member of the board of the Los Angeles Urban League.

Thomas is survived by his wife, Jennifer. Funeral services are pending.