Mable Thomas facts for kids

Mable Thomas was born on November 8, 1957. She is an American politician. Currently, she serves as a member of the Georgia House of Representatives for District 56. Before this, she represented District 55. This district included parts of Downtown Atlanta and Midtown Atlanta.

Early Life and Education

Mable Thomas was born in Atlanta, Georgia. Her birthday is November 8, 1957. She grew up in the English Avenue neighborhood. She was the youngest of five children. Her father worked as a boiler operator.

Mable Thomas finished Booker T. Washington High School in 1975. She then received a scholarship. This allowed her to play basketball for Georgia State University. In 1982, she earned a Bachelor of Science degree. Her degree was in public administration.

Political Career

Mable Thomas began her political journey in 1984. She was chosen as a special helper for Jesse Jackson. He was a candidate for president. In the same year, she won a seat in the Georgia House of Representatives. She beat Grace Towns Hamilton in the primary election. This made her the youngest person in the Georgia General Assembly. She served four terms in this role.

In 1997, Mable Thomas successfully ran for a seat. She joined the Atlanta City Council. After that, in 2003, she returned to the Georgia House. She served there for six more years.

Mable Thomas ran for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. She ran against John Lewis in 1992 and 2008. John Lewis won both times. In 2010, she tried to win back her old Georgia House seat. However, she lost to Rashad Taylor.

In 2019, Mable Thomas announced she would run for the United States Senate. In March 2020, she decided not to run for re-election to her current seat. After Congressman John Lewis passed away, Mable Thomas was considered as a possible replacement. However, Nikema Williams was chosen instead. Thomas also ran in a special election in 2020. This was to serve John Lewis's full term in Congress. She did not get enough votes to continue in that election.

Personal Life

Mable Thomas is often called "Able" or "Able Mable." A colleague gave her this nickname around 1984. Later, she officially made "Able" her legal middle name. She is a member of the Cosmopolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church in Atlanta.