Henry James Thomas
Henry "Hank" James Thomas, born August 29, 1941 in Jacksonville, Flordia. Thomas spent most of his childhood life in St. Augustine, Flordia where he began protesting against racism. He explains that "rebellion came natural to him" and at a young age he particpated in sit ins and sat in white seats when he rode the buses. Thomas attended school at Howard University in Washington D.C, here he was a participant in SNCC On May 4, 1961 the natural rebellion that he describes in himself would come in handy, Thomas joined the first Freedom Riders. The rides went as planned until May 15, 1961, Mother's Day. The bus was making it's way to Anniston, Alabama. While arriving at Anniston, Thomas had a strange feeling come over him, before he knew it the bus was being invaded by 50 people led by Klansman William Chappell. The mob was armed with weapons, they threw things, smashed the windows, and attempted to cause harm to the riders on the bus.2 flat tires caused the bus to stop, letting the mob strike again. Bundles of rags that were on fire were thrown at the bus, causing the bus to go up into flames. Thomas was the first one to make it out of the bus. When he made his way out a man shouted "Are you all OK?" Before anyone could answer, the man smirked and struck Thomas in the head with a baseball bat, causing Thomas to fall to the ground and almost lose consciousness. The first freedom ride ended shortly after the events in Anniston. Even though Thomas was injured and was still full of fear from the first freedom ride, he continued his strong journey and participated in a second freedom ride from Montgomery, Alabama, to Jackson, Mississippi. To this day, Thomas is still an activist and is a heavy participant in community involvement. |