JACKSONVILLE, Fla. \u2014 A new historical marker on Pearl Street has officially been added to Jacksonville\u2019s Civil Rights Trail, honoring a man whose immense courage helped alter the course of American history. <\/p>\n
The marker celebrates Henry \u201cHank\u201d Thomas, one of the original 1961 Freedom Riders who risked their lives to challenge illegal segregation on interstate buses throughout the American South. <\/p>\n
>>> STREAM ACTION NEWS JAX LIVE <<<<\/a><\/p>\n The newly unveiled marker stands at the site of the former Greyhound bus station. Decades ago, this location served as a critical stop for Freedom Riders traveling through the region. <\/p>\n Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan, alongside city leaders, community members and family, gathered at the site to celebrate Thomas\u2019 lasting legacy. <\/p>\n \u201cThis site was home to the former Greyhound bus station where Freedom Riders traveled during the civil rights movement without incident,\u201d Mayor Deegan stated during the ceremony. \u201cWe are so excited to have this in here for perpetuity in the city of Jacksonville. To be able to honor him in this way today, I think, is incredibly meaningful and impactful.\u201d <\/p>\n [DOWNLOAD: Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks<\/a>]<\/p>\n For Thomas, returning to Jacksonville to see his actions permanently etched into the city\u2019s landscape provided a powerful, full-circle moment. The warm reception from local officials and citizens stood in stark contrast to the volatile atmosphere civil rights activists faced in the 1960s. <\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s quite a difference than what I first witnessed in Jacksonville,\u201d Thomas told the crowd. \u201cSo I thank all of you for being here. Thank you very much.\u201d <\/p>\n Thomas\u2019 family members attended the unveiling to witness history being preserved, emphasizing that the event serves as a vital reminder of the steep price paid for modern liberties. <\/p>\n [SIGN UP: Action News Jax Daily Headlines Newsletter<\/a>] <\/p>\n \u201cIf it wasn\u2019t for the Freedom Riders, we wouldn\u2019t be doing the things that we are doing right 1784420048,\u201d said Curtis Higgs, Thomas\u2019 brother, who looked back on the era with pride. \u201cThat\u2019s part of history. I was there.\u201d <\/p>\n \u201cHe could have lost his life during that time. But he survived and he\u2019s doing well and I\u2019m proud of him,\u201d his brother said.<\/p>\n The Pearl Street marker now stands as a permanent educational anchor on Jacksonville\u2019s Civil Rights Trail, ensuring that future generations understand the profound local and national impact of the Freedom Riders. <\/p>\n Click here<\/a> to download the free Action News Jax news and weather apps, click here<\/a> to download the Action News Jax Now app for your smart TV and click here<\/a> to stream Action News Jax live.<\/p>\n Action News Jax Top Stories<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"JACKSONVILLE, Fla. \u2014 A new historical marker on Pearl Street has officially been added to Jacksonville\u2019s Civil Rights…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":344846,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[344,347,28,348,141345,141344,66943,116,351,118,117,141346,349,141347,350,346,345],"class_list":["post-344845","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-jacksonville","tag-action-news-jax","tag-cbs47","tag-florida","tag-fox30","tag-freedom-riders","tag-henry-hank-thomas","tag-historical-marker","tag-jacksonville","tag-jacksonville-fl","tag-jacksonville-headlines","tag-jacksonville-news","tag-jacksonvilles-civil-rights-trail","tag-northeast-florida","tag-pearl-street","tag-southeast-georgia","tag-wfox","tag-wjax"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/344845","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=344845"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/344845\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/344846"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=344845"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=344845"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=344845"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}