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Hank Thomas
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Hank Thomas
Henry "Hank" James Thomas (born August 29, 1941) is an African American civil rights activist and entrepreneur. Thomas was one of the original 13 Freedom Riders who traveled on Greyhound and Trailways buses through the South in 1961 to protest racial segregation, holding demonstrations at bus stops along the way.
Thomas' role in the Civil Rights Movement continued as he became one of the founders of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) and participated in multiple Freedom Rides. In 1965, he served in the Vietnam War as a medic. He was injured in battle and subsequently received a Purple Heart.
He is featured in the National Park Service's International Civil Rights Walk of Fame at the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Site.
Thomas was born August 29, 1941, in Jacksonville, Florida. He learned to read at the age of four from his mother, Tina R. Heggs, who had only a sixth grade education. Never knowing his biological father, Thomas was raised by an abusive stepfather. Thomas spent most of his childhood in St. Augustine, Florida. He started protesting racial injustices early in life. In the book Breach of Peace, Thomas explains that "rebellion came natural" to him. At age 9 or 10, he corrected a white insurance man who addressed his aunt using her first name only. Later on, when blacks were not allowed to check out books in the library, Thomas would take his own books there to read. As he grew up, he participated in sit-ins, and sat in white seats on local buses.
Thomas attended Howard University in Washington D.C. While attending Howard, Thomas participated in many lunch counter sit-ins, and became one of the founders of the Student Nonviolent Coordination Committee (SNCC). His commitment to civil rights increased as he heard about the sit-in movements going on in Greensboro. Inspired by these movements, Thomas became a participant and organizer of early movements in Maryland and in Virginia.
Thomas' first arrest was at a movie theater in Hyattsville, MD. He attempted to purchase movie tickets at a white movie theater, and they wouldn't let him buy any because he was black, so he waited. Eventually the police arrived came and arrested him.
"My first arrest came in the Hyattsville, MD. There's a movie theater there that, of course, we could not go in. And we went there to buy tickets, prearranging we wouldn't move out of the way for other people to buy tickets. That's when I was arrested. That was the beginning."
On May 4, 1961, Hank Thomas joined the first Freedom Rider group. Originally, he was not going to participate, but his roommate, John Moody, who was supposed to join the event, got sick and was unable to attend, so Thomas took his place.
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Hank Thomas
Henry "Hank" James Thomas (born August 29, 1941) is an African American civil rights activist and entrepreneur. Thomas was one of the original 13 Freedom Riders who traveled on Greyhound and Trailways buses through the South in 1961 to protest racial segregation, holding demonstrations at bus stops along the way.
Thomas' role in the Civil Rights Movement continued as he became one of the founders of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) and participated in multiple Freedom Rides. In 1965, he served in the Vietnam War as a medic. He was injured in battle and subsequently received a Purple Heart.
He is featured in the National Park Service's International Civil Rights Walk of Fame at the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Site.
Thomas was born August 29, 1941, in Jacksonville, Florida. He learned to read at the age of four from his mother, Tina R. Heggs, who had only a sixth grade education. Never knowing his biological father, Thomas was raised by an abusive stepfather. Thomas spent most of his childhood in St. Augustine, Florida. He started protesting racial injustices early in life. In the book Breach of Peace, Thomas explains that "rebellion came natural" to him. At age 9 or 10, he corrected a white insurance man who addressed his aunt using her first name only. Later on, when blacks were not allowed to check out books in the library, Thomas would take his own books there to read. As he grew up, he participated in sit-ins, and sat in white seats on local buses.
Thomas attended Howard University in Washington D.C. While attending Howard, Thomas participated in many lunch counter sit-ins, and became one of the founders of the Student Nonviolent Coordination Committee (SNCC). His commitment to civil rights increased as he heard about the sit-in movements going on in Greensboro. Inspired by these movements, Thomas became a participant and organizer of early movements in Maryland and in Virginia.
Thomas' first arrest was at a movie theater in Hyattsville, MD. He attempted to purchase movie tickets at a white movie theater, and they wouldn't let him buy any because he was black, so he waited. Eventually the police arrived came and arrested him.
"My first arrest came in the Hyattsville, MD. There's a movie theater there that, of course, we could not go in. And we went there to buy tickets, prearranging we wouldn't move out of the way for other people to buy tickets. That's when I was arrested. That was the beginning."
On May 4, 1961, Hank Thomas joined the first Freedom Rider group. Originally, he was not going to participate, but his roommate, John Moody, who was supposed to join the event, got sick and was unable to attend, so Thomas took his place.