after they boarded the plane, the pilot announced he had received a bomb threat and ordered all passengers off the plane. The Riders then decided to fly directly to New Orleans, and — after a bomb threat to the second plane — the group finally made it out of Alabama. The STudeNT NONViOleNT COORdiNating Committee (SNCC), led by diane Nash, didn’t want the Freedom Ride to end on such a dismal note. SNCC recruited new Riders from Tennessee State university and Fisk university to pick up where the first Riders left off. hank Thomas was in New York when he heard that new Riders were continuing the movement. he decided to join them, as did John lewis, another original Freedom Rider. under pressure from the Kennedy administration, Gov. Patterson provided a convoy of National Guardsmen armed with fixed bayonets to escort the bus from Birmingham to Montgomery on May 24, 1961. At the Mississippi state line, the guardsmen handed off escort duties to
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the Mississippi National Guard and the state police for the remainder of the ride to Jackson. “i don’t remember a large crowd of people at [Jackson], (but) as soon we entered the bus station, we were arrested,” Thomas says. “And they had the paddy wagons and everything all lined up, so Mississippi was somewhat determined that they weren’t going to repeat what happened in Alabama.” At his arraignment, Thomas says Jackson Municipal Judge James Spencer asked how he pleaded to the charge of “breach of peace.” Before Thomas could answer, the judge said, “don’t waste my time. You’re guilty.” “That was my taste of Mississippi justice,” Thomas says. Things got worse during booking at the police station when Thomas answered a white desk sergeant’s question with “No” instead of “No, sir,” as blacks were expected to do. “That’s when they descended on me,” Thomas says, recalling several officers punching him. Thomas spent a week in the hinds County jail before being
Where are they now?
Charles Person — The youngest of the original 13 Freedom Riders, Person was 18 and a freshman at Morehouse College in Atlanta when he boarded the bus in Washington, d.C. After serving 20 years in the u.S. Marine Corps, Persons taught in Atlanta’s public schools until his retirement. he still lives in Atlanta. John Lewis — lewis, who was 21 during the Freedom Ride, was elected to the u.S. house of Representatives in 1980 and still represents Georgia in this position. Hank Thomas — The Jacksonville, Fla. native was 19 when he became a Freedom Rider. he served in the military in Vietnam in 1965 and 1966. he now lives in Stone Mountain, Ga., and is the owner of four Marriott hotels and two Mcdonald’s restaurants. transported to the State Penitentiary at Parchman, Miss. during his 35 days at Parchman, Thomas was placed in solitary confinement twice. Neither the authorities nor violent protestors could stop Thomas and other African-Americans from exercising their rights, and the Freedom Ride inspired many blacks in the rural South to get
involved in the Civil Rights Movement at the grassroots level. “[The Freedom Ride] renewed my determination,” Thomas says. “They made me more determined than ever to fight for equal rights in this country.”
takes place. The issue is not with the conflicts themselves, which have existed for decades, but whether they are identified, addressed and managed.” For example, in lafayette 35 percent of inspectors were recused; in lake Charles, 30 percent. inspectors’ relationships with offshore companies extended to informal lunches, hunting and fishing trips and football games, the report said. Although it pointed out signs of dysfunction within the state’s regulatory agencies, Ross said the report is a sign the “system is working.” “As an industry we certainly support the recusals of individuals that have relationships with companies previously that may somewhere down the line end up regulating those companies,” Ross said. “There’s a similar protocol in a lot of other industries, a lot of other sectors, where individuals have to sit on the sidelines because of the ethical nature of a previous job and what they do currently.” — Alex Woodward
gawea dollar — except perhaps as “grandchildren gifts.” even less known is the “presidential dollar” series, inspired by the u.S. Mint’s state quarters series. in 2007, the Mint began releasing a new presidential dollar every three months in hopes of stimulating interest from collectors and the public. The series is up to Ulysses S. Grant, the 18th president, but consumers have been indifferent about the coins. Nevertheless, a government mandate requires they continue to be minted. A June investigation by National Public Radio found that more than 1 billion of the coins are sitting in Federal Reserve vaults in dallas even as more are minted each year. On July 20, Vitter and Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., introduced Senate Bill 1385, which would halt the minting of dollar coins. “even though many in Congress, including myself, hoped that dollar coins would eventually save taxpayers money, it’s turned out to be one of those unnecessary and, quite frankly, wasteful programs that we should eliminate,” Vitter said in a statement. Numismatists may grumble if the presidential series isn’t completed, but Vitter and deMint’s bill is likely to find public support. Vitter’s office supplied figures from the u.S. Government Accountability Office and the Federal Reserve estimating it would cost $3 million to move the presidential dollars and another $1.4 million to build a facility to house the newly minted ones. — Allman
This article originally appeared in the Jackson Free Press.
MORE scuttlEbutt over the last three months and has more than $8.8 million in his campaign war chest. — Kevin Allman
Oil in the Family
louisiana’s strong ties to the oil industry were exposed to the nation last week when the Associated Press uncovered documents showing just how cozy a relationship the state has with the industry it regulates. The AP found one of every five employees involved with offshore inspections in the Gulf of Mexico were recused from duties because of potential interactions with a friend or family member. it raises the question: Where else would an agency turn to find employees familiar with the industry? Matt Ross, communications director for the louisiana Oil & Gas Association, told Gambit there are little or no alternatives to recruiting from within the same stock. No institutions can provide the same onthe-ground experience and familiarity that offshore workers bring to regulatory agencies. “usually their experience comes from being on the ground and being a part of the industry and understanding proper protocols the industry does in the private sector,” Ross said. Michael Bromwich, director of the Bureau of Ocean energy Management, Regulation and enforcement (or BOeMRe, formerly the Minerals Management Service), told the AP those conflicts of interest exist “because of close-knit communities in which much offshore activity
WhO’S minDinG the mint?
if you have a Millard Fillmore dollar coin, hang on to it. if Sen. David Vitter has his way, it’ll be a collector’s item. What — you didn’t know the u.S. Mint had produced a dollar coin to honor our 13th president? That, Vitter says, is exactly the problem. unlike Canadians and europeans, Americans have never taken to large-denomination coins — whether it’s an eisenhower dollar (minted in the 1970s), Susan B. Anthony dollar (1979-1981) or gold Saca-
Gambit > bestofneworleans.com > aUGUst 02 > 2011
everything from slamming BP at a meeting of business professionals in lafayette to sitting in a dunk tank at Zephyr Field for a charity event organized by New Orleans Saints safety Darren Sharper. • Anh “Joseph” Cao, the former GOP congressman who lost his seat to u.S. Rep. Cedric Richmond last year, filed papers announcing the formation of a committee for his run for state attorney general against incumbent Buddy Caldwell, who switched from democrat to Republican earlier this year. Also mentioned as possible challengers to Caldwell: louisiana Senate president Joel Chaisson, d-destrehan; and u.S. Rep. Jeff Landry, the Tea Party-backed GOP freshman who lost his base to redistricting earlier this year. • Caroline Fayard, the New Orleans democrat who showed strength in last year’s race for lieutenant governor — then delivered an infamous speech at a March meeting of the Washington Parish democratic Party, where she said, “i hate Republicans” — filed for an unspecified statewide office. in May, Fayard announced her intention to run for Secretary of State and said a formal declaration would come soon, but her most recent filing left her intentions unstated. • Tara Hollis, the “conservative democrat” long shot challenging Republican Gov. Bobby Jindal, looks like an even longer shot when you see the numbers. hollis raised only $3,335 in the last seven-and-ahalf months and has less than $1,000 on hand. in contrast, Jindal raised $335,000
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