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.
[1] 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.
While attending Howard, Thomas participated in many lunch counter sit-ins, and became one of the founders of the Student Nonviolent Coordination Committee (SNCC).
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.
At the time, Anniston had a large African-American population, a fairly well-established National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) branch and "some of the most aggressive and violent Klansmen in Alabama".
[7] Hank Thomas experienced a strange feeling as the bus arrived at the Anniston station shortly after 1 PM of that day.
[7] The mob was armed with various weapons, and proceeded to throw things, smash windows, and attempt to cause harm to the riders of the bus.
[7] As soon as city limits were passed, the police escorts left, and the mob (which had followed in cars and trucks) came upon the bus again.
Two flat tires caused the bus to stop on the side of the road, leaving the riders open to the mob.
Thomas, as well as the other riders, was only able to make it out because the mob had dispersed when word of the bus possibly exploding got through the crowd.
Although Thomas was injured, and injected with a sense of fear, he participated in a second Freedom Ride from Montgomery, Alabama to Jackson, Mississippi ten days later.
[9] After the Freedom Rides and the Vietnam War, Hank Thomas moved to Atlanta, which he thought was the best place for black middle-class at the time.
[10] Hank Thomas was honored at a Freedom Fighters Appreciation Banquet at the Willie Galimore Community Center in 1992.
[11] He is President of the Hayon Inc. Group, which owns three McDonald's franchises in Atlanta, and of Victoria Hospitality Properties Inc., which runs the four Marriott Hotels.