Thelma Glass (May 16, 1916 – July 24, 2012) was an American civil rights activist, noted for helping to organize the Montgomery bus boycott of 1955, and a professor of geography.[1]
Thelma Glass | |
|---|---|
 Thelma Glass | |
| Born | Thelma McWilliams May 16, 1916 |
| Died | July 24, 2012 (aged 96) |
| Alma mater | Alabama State University, Columbia University |
| Occupation | Geography professor |
| Employer | Alabama State University |
| Known for | Co-organizer of Montgomery bus boycott |
| Spouse | Arthur Glass |
Biography edit
Glass was born Thelma McWilliams in Mobile, Alabama, to a hotel cook and homemaker.[1] She graduated from Dunbar High School (Mobile) and attended Alabama State University and Columbia University.[1]
In 1955, after Rosa Parks' arrest, Glass and the other members of the Women's Political Council, called for a boycott of the Montgomery bus system, thus beginning the Montgomery bus boycott, a key action in the Civil Rights Movement.[1] Glass had joined the organization in 1947[2] and in 1955 was its secretary.[1] The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. joined in the protests as well and worked with her. She passed out fliers, alerted the community, and urged passengers to walk or car-pool.[3] Soon she noticed every bus that went by was empty of passengers. Although there was sometimes violent retaliation, the boycott continued and eventually the Supreme Court ruled that segregation on buses was unconstitutional and the boycott ended.[1]
She married Arthur Glass in 1942, and both taught geography at Alabama State University, where her husband was also a professor.[1] Glass died in 2012 at the age of 96.[1]
References edit
- ^ a b c d e f g h Denise Grady, "Thelma Glass, Organizer of Alabama Bus Protests, Dies at 96" (Obituary), New York Times, July 28, 2012.
- ^ Adam Bernstein, "Thelma Glass, Alabama teacher at the forefront of civil rights activism, dies at 96", Washington Post, July 26, 2012.
- ^ Pippins, Erica. "Thelma Glass". The Montgomery Advertiser. Archived from the original on 16 April 2007. Retrieved 20 February 2017.
Further reading edit
- Adam Bernstein, "Thelma Glass, Alabama teacher at the forefront of civil rights activism, dies at 96", Washington Post, July 26, 2012.
- Robinson, Jo Ann Gibson (1987). The Montgomery Bus Boycott and the Women who Started it: The Memoir of Jo Ann Gibson Robinson. University of Tennessee Press. ISBN 9780870495274.
External links edit
- Obituary, Montgomery Advertiser
- "Remembering Civil Rights Pioneer Thelma Glass", WSFA (news video)
  | This biographical article about a United States activist is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
 | This civil rights movement–related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |