Hank Thomas

Hank Thomas was born into the struggle, a Jacksonville native whose bravery and
resolve shaped the course of civil rights history. One of the original Freedom Riders,
Hank risked his life for the simple right to sit where he chose, to ride as an equal, to be
seen as a man. What kind of courage does it take to board a bus, knowing it might be
your last ride? Hank Thomas knew, and he rode anyway.

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Hank’s life is a story of triumph over hate, of fire in the face of violence. That moment
when his Greyhound bus was firebombed in Anniston, Alabama, did not break him—it
forged him. His survival was a testament to the resilience of Black men and women
everywhere. Jacksonville, Tallahassee, and the South at large were forever changed by
the Freedom Riders, and Hank Thomas stood at the heart of that change. Even after
the buses stopped, Hank’s fight continued, as he became a businessman with a

conscience, funding scholarships and uplifting the next generation of civil rights leaders.
Hank’s fire still burns, and we are all warmed by its heat.