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Erica Thomas

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Erica Thomas
Member of the Georgia House of Representatives
from the 39th district
Incumbent
Assumed office
January 12, 2015
Preceded byAlisha Thomas Morgan
Personal details
Born (1987-08-12) August 12, 1987 (age 37)
Fayetteville, North Carolina
Political partyDemocratic
SpouseOpeyemi Adeyemi
ResidenceAustell, Georgia
Alma materOakwood University

Erica Renee Thomas (born August 12, 1987) is an American politician and youth leader. Thomas is the Georgia State Representative of District 39. She is also the founder of Speak Out Loud, a local nonprofit dedicated to giving a voice to foster children.

Thomas received the 2013 Ambassador for Peace Award from the Global Peace Foundation.[1] She was recognized by the Georgia Center for Nonprofits (GCN), as a Nonprofit Leader and given the 30 under 30 Award for 2016.[2]

Early life and education

Thomas was born in Fayetteville, North Carolina, and she grew up in Knoxville, Tennessee. She studied at Carter High School, Cocke County High School, and Oakwood University.[citation needed]

Career

Legislative service

Thomas first gained experience with the General Assembly serving as Legislative Aide to the previous representative from House District 39, she ran for the same office and won in 2014 when her predecessor went ahead to seek a higher office. She is currently serving her second term in office. She is currently serving on the Retirement, Budget and Fiscal Policy, Juvenile Justice and Science and Technology Committees.[citation needed]

In 2015, Thomas was a guest speaker at the Black Business Empowerment Convention of Georgia.[3]

International development leadership and non-profit work

Thomas sits on the board of nonprofits.[citation needed] She runs Speak Out Loud, a local nonprofit she founded that is dedicated to providing a voice to foster children. The organization has expanded across the country and has chapters in Nigeria. Thomas has worked to establish libraries in various locations in Africa.[1]

Incident at Publix

On July 19, 2019, Thomas was in a Publix supermarket express lane when she alleges a man "degraded and berated" her. In a viral video she posted on Facebook, Thomas tearfully said that the man yelled at her, "You need to go back where you came from!". She said that he was a white man, and that he must have been inspired by a similar statement made by President Donald Trump several days earlier, directed at some Democratic lawmakers. The hashtag #IStandwithErica subsequently trended on Twitter. Thomas later contacted police and said that she planned to seek video footage. Soon afterward, the man who yelled at Thomas, Eric Sparkes, came forward; he stated that he was an anti-Trump Democrat, was Cuban-American, and that he yelled at Thomas because she brought too many groceries into the express checkout line. Sparkes acknowledged calling Thomas a "lazy bitch" but denied saying "Go back where you came from".[4][5] In a subsequent interview, Thomas said, "I don't know if he said 'go back,' or those types of words ... I don't know if he said 'go back to your country' or 'go back to where you came from,' but he was making those types of references is what I remember."[5]

Thomas stated that she feared for her life and said that she wanted Sparkes charged by police. Meanwhile, some state Republicans said that she should resign if video evidence were to prove her allegations false.[6] Upon completion of their investigation, the Cobb County police announced no charges would be filed.[7]

A store employee told police Thomas was the one who told Sparkes to go back where he came from.[8]

Awards and honors

  • 2013 Ambassador of Peace Award[1]
  • 100 Black Men of America's Image Award[9]
  • Atlanta Leading Ladies[10]
  • National Action Network Action and Authority award[11]

References

  1. ^ a b c "Rep. Erica Thomas (D-39)" (PDF). Georgia House of Representatives. Retrieved January 25, 2017.
  2. ^ "30 Under 30 Award Recipients for 2016". YNPN Atlanta. November 1, 2016. Retrieved January 25, 2017.
  3. ^ "Black Business Empowerment Convention of Georgia". ATL Event Listings. Retrieved January 25, 2017.
  4. ^ "White man denies saying 'Go back where you came from'". The Washington Post. Associated Press. July 20, 2019. Retrieved July 21, 2019.
  5. ^ a b Wu, Nicholas; Cummings, William (July 20, 2019). "Georgia state lawmaker Erica Thomas now uncertain man told her to 'go back to where you came from'". USA Today. Retrieved July 21, 2019. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  6. ^ Elliot, Richard (July 22, 2019). "State representative says she was 'scared for her life' during Publix incident". WSB-TV Atlanta. Retrieved July 23, 2019.
  7. ^ Johnson, Larry Felton (July 23, 2019). "Cobb Police: No Charges In Publix Incident Involving Erica Thomas". Retrieved July 28, 2019.
  8. ^ https://www.wsbtv.com/news/local/cobb-county/video-sheds-new-light-on-grocery-store-confrontation-between-lawmaker-man/969871019
  9. ^ "2015 Annual Youth Achievement Luncheon" (PDF). 100 Black Men of North Metro, Inc. April 11, 2015. Retrieved January 25, 2017.
  10. ^ Caslin, Yvette (March 22, 2016). "Atlanta's Leading Ladies at Walker's Legacy Women's Leadership Brunch". Rolling Out. Retrieved January 25, 2017.
  11. ^ "NAN Honors Women Who Answered The Call To Action". National Action Network. September 17, 2015. Retrieved January 25, 2017.
Political offices
Preceded by Georgia State Representative
2014–present 		Succeeded by
Incumbent
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