Wells Fargo mural honors bravery of Freedom Riders fighting segregation [Video]

At 6’4” and 240 pounds, 19-year-old Hank Thomas was unaccustomed to being confronted. That changed on May 14, 1961, when he found himself facing a crowd of Ku Klux Klansmen in Anniston, Alabama. The mob — armed with chains, lead pipes, and baseball bats — shouted insults, broke windows, slashed tires, and ultimately firebombed the bus he was riding.

“I felt that would be my last day,” Thomas said. “I knew if I got off the bus, I would be beaten to death. But if I stayed on the bus, [I was] gonna be killed by the fire or the smoke.

“I had to decide: Which way was I gonna die?”

Thomas survived — only to be attacked by a man wielding a baseball bat. Despite having a concussion, he rejoined the Rides in Montgomery, Alabama. Ten days later, he was arrested in Jackson, Mississippi.

Despite the danger he knew he could face, Thomas was on those …