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Velma Maia Thomas

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Reverend

Velma Maia Thomas
Born (1955-06-18) 18 June 1955 (age 69)
Detroit, United States
NationalityAmerican
EducationHoward University, Emory University, Georgia State University.
GenreNon-fiction
Notable worksLest We Forget: The Passage from Africa to Slavery and Emancipation
Notable awardsAlex Award (1998)
Website
velmamaiathomas.com

Reverend Velma Maia Thomas (born June 18, 1955) is an author and academic from the United States of America.

Background

Thomas was born June 18, 1955, in Detroit, Michigan.[1] She received her bachelor's degree (journalism) from Howard University and master's degree (political science) from Emory University. She also holds a graduate certificate in Heritage Preservation from Georgia State University.[2]

Thomas is an ordained minister at the Church of the Black Madonna in Atlanta.[3]

Career

Thomas's work focuses on African American history, specifically slavery and emancipation in context of the United States of America.[2]

From 1987 to 2000 Thomas worked at the Shrine of the Black Madonna Bookstore and Cultural Center in Atlanta. Here she created the Black Holocaust Exhibit, a collection on slavery in America.[4][5][6]

Works

From her work on the Black Holocaust Exhibit, Thomas published four interactive books on slavery and emancipation in the United States entitled:

  • Lest We Forget: The Passage from Africa to Slavery and Emancipation (1997, Random House)
  • Freedom's Children: The Passage from Emancipation to the Great Migration (2000, Random House)
  • No Man Can Hinder Me: The Journey from Slavery to Emancipation Through Song (2001, Random House)
  • We Shall Not Be Moved (2002, Random House)

Thomas also co-authored Emancipation Proclamation: Forever Free with Kevin McGruder (2013)[7] and was a contributor to Leroy Barber's book Red, Brown, Yellow, Black, White? Who's More Precious In God's Sight? (2013).[8]

Thomas was selected as one of a hundred distinguished Americans to contribute to the book Lift Every Voice and Sing: A Celebration of the Negro National Anthem (2000)[9] She also contributed a chapter to Albert Cleage Jr. and the Black Madonna and Child (2016)[10] and provided the introduction to Finding A Place Called Home: A Guide to African-American Genealogy and Historical Identity (1999).[2][11]

Thomas has contributed to various academic journals, notably the publication of The Odd Fellow City: The Promise of a Leading Black Town in the Journal of the Georgia Association of Historians.[5]

In 2012, Thomas was an expert and commentator for the PBS documentary, Underground Railroad: The William Still Story.[3]

Thomas has served as a distinguished scholar at the Penn Center in South Carolina and is currently part of the faculty of the University of South Carolina Beaufort.[2]

Awards

Thomas's first book, Lest We Forget, received an Alex Award in 1998 from the American Library Association.[12] Freedom's Children was a finalist for the 2000 Georgia Writer of the Year Award for Young Adult Books.[13] We Shall Not Be Moved received the 2003 Outstanding Contribution to Publishing Citation Award from the Black Caucus of the American Library Association.[14]

In 2004 she won the Award for Excellence in Research Using the Holdings of An Archives from the Georgia Historical Records Advisory Board.[13]

References

  1. ^ "Thomas, Velma Maia". encyclopedia.com. Retrieved 20 November 2017.
  2. ^ a b c d "Faculty and Staff". University of South Carolina Beaufot. Retrieved 20 November 2017.
  3. ^ a b "Who's Who in the Film". Underground Railroad PBS. Retrieved 20 November 2017.
  4. ^ Jones, Charisse (2 April 1995). "Bringing Slavery's Long Shadow to the Light". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 20 November 2017.
  5. ^ a b "Author speaks on 150th anniversary of Emancipation Proclamation, Feb. 20". Covington News. 4 February 2014. Retrieved 20 November 2017.
  6. ^ Jenn, Nina King (7 February 1997). "It's better to give..." Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 20 November 2017.
  7. ^ McGruder, Kevin; Thomas, Vela Maia; Scott, Georgia (2013). Emancipation Proclamation "Forever Free". Urban Ministries, Inc. ISBN 1609978765.
  8. ^ Barber, Leroy; Thomas, Velma Maia (2014). Red, Brown, Yellow, Black, White: Who's More Precious In God's Sight?: A call for diversity in Christian missions and ministry. Jericho Books. ISBN 1455574953.
  9. ^ Bond, Julian (editor); Wilson, Sondra Kathryn (editor) (2000). Lift Every Voice and Sing: A Celebration of the Negro National Anthem; 100 Years, 100 Voices. Random House. ISBN 9780679463153. {{cite book}}: |first= has generic name (help)
  10. ^ Clark, Jawanza Eric (Editor) (2016). Albert Cleage Jr. and the Black Madonna and Child. Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 117–134. ISBN 9781137546883. {{cite book}}: |first= has generic name (help)
  11. ^ Woodtor, Dee Parmer (1999). Finding A Place Called Home: A Guide to African-American Genealogy and Historical Identity. Random House. ISBN 9780375405952.
  12. ^ "Lest We Forget: The Passage from Africa to Slavery and Emancipation - YALSA Book Finder". YALSA. Retrieved 20 November 2017.
  13. ^ a b "GHRAB Award Winners - 2004" (PDF). georgiaarchives.org. Retrieved 20 November 2017.
  14. ^ "BCALA announces 2003 literary awards winners". American Library Association. 26 February 2007. Retrieved 20 November 2017.
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