Thelma Glass

Thelma Glass (May 16, 1916 – July 24, 2012) was an American civil rights activist, noted for helping to organize the Montgomery bus boycott of 1955, and a professor of geography at Alabama State University. She was also an advocate for geography education in Black educational systems.

Early life Glass was born Thelma McWilliams in Mobile, Alabama, to a hotel cook and homemaker. She graduated from Dunbar High School (Mobile) and attended Alabama State University and Columbia University. Soon she noticed every bus that went by was empty of passengers. Although there was sometimes violent retaliation, the boycott continued until December 20, 1956, when the Supreme Court ruled in Browder v. Gayle that segregation on buses was unconstitutional.

Glass, around 70 years old at the time, was a passenger in a car with two unnamed senior citizens. An Alabama State Trooper pulled the car over for speeding, although Glass claims in her report that the car had not been going over the speed limit. The police officer asked the driver to exit the vehicle, and Glass exited the passenger seat. The officer then is claimed to have pointed his weapon at her, ordering her to reenter the vehicle. After issuing a ticket to the driver, the officer departed. Glass does not have much of this work published, but she used her research to advocate for geography education.

Glass received Alabama State University's Black and Gold Standard Award in 2011 for her notability and contributions to the university. She also had an auditorium named after and dedicated to her on the university's campus.

Glass died at the age of 96 on July 24, 2012, in Montgomery, Alabama.