Mable Thomas

The daughter of Bernard and Madie Thomas, Mable Thomas was born on November 8, 1957, and raised in the English Avenue neighborhood of Atlanta, Georgia, the youngest of five children.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0O_gAAAAMAAJ&q=%22Thomas,+Mable%22+Who%27s+who+college|title=The World Who's who of Women|year=1990|publisher=Melrose Press |isbn=9780948875106}}{{cite news|title=Funeral Notices|page=6-C|date=February 6, 1978|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/55663215/the-atlanta-constitution/|newspaper=The Atlanta Constitution|access-date=July 19, 2020}} Her father was a boiler operator.{{Cite web|title=Our Campaigns - Candidate - "Able" Mable Thomas|url=https://www.ourcampaigns.com/CandidateDetail.html?CandidateID=28566|access-date=2020-07-18|website=www.ourcampaigns.com}}

Thomas graduated from Booker T. Washington High School in 1975. She then earned a scholarship to Georgia State University to play for the Georgia State Panthers women's basketball team, and earned a Bachelor of Science in public administration in 1982.[https://justfacts.votesmart.org/candidate/biography/31832/mable-thomas Mable Thomas' Biography]{{Cite web|date=2019-03-08|title=From GSU student-athlete to House representative|url=https://georgiastatesignal.com/from-gsu-student-athlete-to-house-representative/|access-date=2020-07-19|website=The Signal|language=en-US}}

Thomas' political career started when she was chosen as a presidential delegate for candidate Jesse Jackson at the 1984 Democratic National Convention.{{cite news|last=Graham|first=Keith|title=Mable|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/55660591/the-atlanta-constitution/|newspaper=The Atlanta Constitution|page=9-B|date=September 26, 1983|access-date=July 19, 2020}} {{free access}} In the same year, she won a seat in the Georgia House of Representatives, defeating incumbent Grace Towns Hamilton in the Democratic primary, thus becoming the youngest member of the Georgia General Assembly.{{cite news|last=Graham|first=Keith|title=Able Mable Thomas wants to live up to her campaign label|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/55660230/the-atlanta-constitution/|newspaper=The Atlanta Constitution|page=1-B|date=September 26, 1983|access-date=July 19, 2020}} {{free access}}{{cite news|title=Georgia's Youngest State Legislator Honored|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/55661541/the-atlanta-voice/|page=8|last=Dixon|first=Princella|newspaper=The Atlanta Voice|date=September 28, 1984|access-date=July 19, 2020}} {{Free access}} She served four terms. In 1997, she launched a successful campaign for a seat on the Atlanta City Council. In 2003, she returned to the Georgia House for six years.{{cite news|title='Able' Mable returns|last=Ippolito|first=Milo|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/55662431/the-atlanta-constitution/|date=August 29, 2002|newspaper=The Atlanta Constitution|page=JD1|access-date=July 19, 2020}}[https://web.archive.org/web/20100626233807/http://www.ablemable.com/about.php "Able" Mable Thomas campaign website]{{Cite web|title=Representative "Able" Mable Thomas|url=http://www.house.ga.gov/representatives/en-US/member.aspx?Member=224&Session=27|access-date=2020-07-18|website=www.house.ga.gov}}

In 1992 and 2008, Thomas challenged John Lewis to represent {{ushr|GA|5}}. Both times, Lewis defeated her in the Democratic primary. In July 2010, she ran for her old Georgia House seat but lost to Rashad Taylor in the primary.[https://web.archive.org/web/20110530011649/http://www.atlantaprogressivenews.com/interspire/news/2011/05/27/state-rep-rashad-taylor-comes-out-of-the-closet.html "State Rep. Rashad Taylor Comes Out of the Closet", Atlanta Progressive News, May 27, 2011] On October 27, 2019, Thomas announced her candidacy for United States Senate at the SisterSong Let's Talk about Sex Reproductive Justice conference.{{cite tweet|number=1188479191282520064|user=SisterSong_WOC|title=Reproductive justice movement mother, Rep. Mable Thomas just announced at #LTAS2019 that she is RUNNING FOR SENATE.… |date=October 27, 2019}} In March 2020, Thomas announced she would not seek re-election.{{Cite web|date=March 6, 2020|title=Two anti-LGBTQ lawmakers retiring from Georgia legislature|url=https://www.projectq.us/atlanta/two_anti_lgbtq_lawmakers_retiring_from_georgia_legislature|access-date=2020-07-19|website=Project Q|language=en}}

After the death of incumbent Congressman John Lewis, Thomas was mentioned as a possible candidate to replace Lewis on the November general election ballot.{{Cite web|title=The process of replacing Rep. John Lewis in the US House|url=https://www.11alive.com/article/news/politics/replacing-lewis/85-a65fdde1-7d3f-4b34-a3d0-2d7bdc1cba31|access-date=2020-07-19|website=11Alive.com|date=18 July 2020 |language=en-US}} State Senator and State Democratic Party Chair Nikema Williams was eventually selected to succeed Lewis on the November ballot. Thomas was a candidate for the special election to serve Lewis's full term in Congress, but did not advance to the December 2020 runoff election.{{Cite web|last1=Bluestein|first1=Greg|publisher=The Atlanta Journal-Constitution|title=Several prominent Democrats line up to succeed John Lewis in Congress|url=https://www.ajc.com/politics/politics-blog/several-prominent-democrats-line-up-to-succeed-john-lewis-in-congress/N4O3GZX4AJDQTFD55H446G5OAM/|access-date=2020-08-06|website=ajc|language=en}}

Thomas is often referred to by the nickname "Able" or "Able Mable", which was coined by a colleague around 1984.{{Cite web|title=Able Mable Thomas|url=https://www.bgca.org/about-us/alumni-hall-of-fame/able-mable-thomas|access-date=2020-07-19|website=www.bgca.org}}{{Cite news|last1=Prabhu|first1=Maya T.|title=Retiring Georgia legislators take decades of knowledge with them|url=https://www.ajc.com/news/state--regional-govt--politics/retiring-georgia-legislators-take-decades-knowledge-with-them/cblHN0ms04ZBE9xSZgrQEL/|access-date=2020-07-19|newspaper=The Atlanta Journal-Constitution|language=English}} She later made it her legal middle name. Thomas is a member of the Cosmopolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church in Atlanta.

{{Reflist}}

• [http://ablemable.com/ "Able" Mable Thomas 2010 campaign website]

{{Georgia House of Representatives}}

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Category:Living people

Category:Democratic Party members of the Georgia House of Representatives

Category:African-American state legislators in Georgia (U.S. state)

Category:Women state legislators in Georgia (U.S. state)

Category:21st-century American women politicians

Category:1957 births

Category:21st-century African-American women politicians

Category:21st-century African-American politicians

Category:20th-century African-American politicians

Category:20th-century African-American women politicians

Category:20th-century American women politicians

Category:Candidates in the 2020 United States House of Representatives elections

Category:21st-century members of the Georgia General Assembly