Narciso Gener Gonzales

Biography

Narciso Gener Gonzales (1858-1903) helmed the Columbia newspaper The State, turning it into an outspoken advocate for transparent governance in South Carolina. He believed that citizens deserved honest reporting and he persistently held public officials accountable in an era when the state was still healing from war and upheaval.

His peers recalled him as a courageous journalist whose integrity inspired younger reporters and whose untimely death underscored the perils of advocating for reform. Gonzales's legacy endures in the spirit of fearless local journalism and in the convictions of those who continue to press for justice.