{"id":78,"date":"2016-02-29T21:26:48","date_gmt":"2016-02-29T21:26:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.atlasfamily.org\/dev16\/?p=78"},"modified":"2019-01-15T17:15:35","modified_gmt":"2019-01-15T23:15:35","slug":"the-thompson-sisters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.atlasfamily.org\/dev16-rewrite\/the-thompson-sisters\/","title":{"rendered":"The Thompson Sisters (Alice, Jean, and Shirley)"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Thompson Sisters and Their Involvement in NAACP and CORE<\/h3>\n

Between 1959-1960, Alice, Jean, and Shirley Thompson, became members of the Youth Council of the New Orleans branch of the\u00a0National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP)<\/a> .\u00a0The Thompson\u00a0Sisters, as they are famously known, soon sought more direct action and in 1960 joined the New Orleans chapter of the\u00a0Congress for Racial Equality (CORE)<\/a>\u00a0under the leadership by Rudy Lombard and later Oretha Castle Haley.\u00a0They participated in many sit ins and protests, most notably, the Freedom Rides of 1961 which tested the Interstate Commerce Law. They were instrumental in integrating several places in New Orleans including:\u00a0McCrory\u2019s, Woolworths, Loews State Theater, City Hall Cafeteria, and Audubon Park.\u00a0Beaten, and sometimes mauled by crowds, these three sisters showed extreme courage as they helped desegregate the south during their high school and college careers. <\/p>\n

Alice Marie Thompson<\/h2>\n

September 25, 1939 – August 24, 2015<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"
Alice Thompson, great great granddaughter of King Atlas, Sr.Alice Marie Thompson<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Alice\u00a0was born September 25, 1939 in Lake Providence, East Carroll, Louisiana. She was the sixth of eight children born to Cora Mae (Atlas)<\/a> and John Henry Thompson, Sr.<\/a> and was the granddaughter of Susie Lee and Louis Balfour Atlas, Sr.<\/a> and Alice Piercey and Norah Thompson.<\/p>\n

After the passage of the Interstate Commerce Commission\u2019s (ICC) ruling outlawing segregation on buses, terminals, restrooms, restaurants, etc. on November 1, 1961, Alice and fellow New Orleans CORE members began testing throughout Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Beaumont, TX. Their first test was in New Orleans at the Trailways bus terminal on Tulane Avenue. On November 14, 1961, the group tested in Hattiesburg, MS and Poplarville, MS following a trip to Mobile, AL. In Poplarville, Alice, Patricia Smith, and Frank Nelson were arrested and charged with breach of peace. Alice and Patricia were placed in the same cell as Mack Charles Parker<\/a>. Parker had been beaten, hanged, and his body thrown in a river two years previous. On November 29, 1961, Alice, Jerome Smith, George Raymond, Doratha Smith, and Thomas Valentine were viciously beaten while testing in McComb, MS.<\/p>\n

Alice\u00a0graduated from Southern University in New Orleans with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Liberal Arts and Sciences. Alice worked for many years as a social worker and retired in 2002. She passed away on August 24, 2015\u00a0at age 75.<\/p>\n

Civil Rights Activities<\/strong><\/p>\n