Hank Thomas

Hank Thomas received the "Buffalo Soldier" Award from Howard University in 2006. In 2011, he was inducted into the International Civil Rights "Walk of Fame", receiving the "For my People" Award. He also received the Rabbi Perry Nausbaum Civil Justice Award. In addition, Thomas has received the 365Black Award given by McDonald's Inc.

Hank Thomas was honored at a Freedom Fighters Appreciation Banquet at the Willie Galimore Community Center in 1992. 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.

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.

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.

The rides went as expected until May 14, Mothers' Day, of 1961. The Greyhound bus Thomas was riding was making its way into Anniston, Alabama. 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". Hank Thomas experienced a strange feeling as the bus arrived at the Anniston station shortly after 1 PM of that day. Before he knew it, the bus was being overrun by a mob of about 50 led by Klan leader William Chappell. 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. Anniston police took more time than necessary to arrive at the scene, but when they did, the bus was escorted to the city limits. 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. A flaming bundle of rags was thrown through the window, causing the bus to catch fire. 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.

The first Freedom Ride ended shortly after the events in Anniston. 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. This time, he was incarcerated and served time at the Parchman State Prison Farm. Thomas was soon after released on bail, and on August 22, 1961, he became the first rider to appeal his conviction for the breach of peace. Although the Mississippi Supreme Court affirmed his conviction in 1964, the U.S. Supreme Court reversed in 1965.

Thomas has served on the boards of the APEX Museum, the Butler Street YMCA, the Atlanta Youth Academy, and Atlanta's Boys and Girls Club. He was formerly a Vice Chair of the Piney Woods School in Jackson, Mississippi. He serves on the Board of Trustees of Talladega College and Morehouse Medical School. He is also part of the Mississippi Freedom Riders 50th Reunion Foundation, serving as the National Chair.

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 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.