Erica Thomas

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. She was recognized by the Georgia Center for Nonprofits (GCN), as a Nonprofit Leader and given the 30 under 30 Award for 2016.[1]

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

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.[2]

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.[3]

In 2015, Thomas was a guest speaker at the Black Business Empowerment Convention of Georgia.[4]

International development leadership and non-profit work
Thomas with Congresswoman Karen Bass in 2019.

Thomas runs Speak Out Loud, a local nonprofit she founded that is dedicated to providing a voice to foster children.[5] The organization has expanded across the country and has chapters in Nigeria. She has also worked to establish libraries in various locations in Africa.[6]

Personal life

Incident at Publix

On July 19, 2019, Thomas falsely alleged a man, Eric Sparkes, "degraded and berated" her while she was in line in a Publix. She stated that Sparkes told her to go back where she came from, a reference to a controversial and allegedly racist tweet by President Donald Trump. Thomas said that she feared for her life and later contacted police requesting the man be charged.[7][8][9][10] Upon completion of their investigation, the Cobb County police announced no charges would be filed.[11] A Publix employee told a Cobb County officer that she witnessed part of the conversation and heard Thomas “continuously tell Eric Sparkes to ‘Go back where you came from!’” but did not hear Sparkes utter those words to Thomas.[12]

Sparkes, who said he is a Democrat and identifies as Cuban-American, denied making a racist comment. He stated that he was instead annoyed with Thomas for bringing too many groceries into the express checkout line.[13][14][15] 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."[15]

Awards and honors
  • 2013 Ambassador of Peace Award[6]
  • 100 Black Men of America's Image Award[16]
  • Atlanta Leading Ladies[17]
  • National Action Network Action and Authority award[18]

References
  1. "30 Under 30 Award Recipients for 2016". YNPN Atlanta. November 1, 2016. Retrieved January 25, 2017.
  2. "Erica Thomas".
  3. "Erica R. Thomas".
  4. "Black Business Empowerment Convention of Georgia". ATL Event Listings. Retrieved January 25, 2017.
  5. "Rep. Erica Thomas Biography" (PDF).
  6. "Rep. Erica Thomas (D-39)" (PDF). Georgia House of Representatives. Retrieved January 25, 2017.
  7. Rogers, Katie; Fandos, Nicholas (July 14, 2019). "Trump Tells Congresswomen to 'Go Back' to the Countries They Came From". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved July 2, 2020.
  8. "White man denies saying 'Go back where you came from'". The Washington Post. Associated Press. July 20, 2019. Retrieved July 21, 2019.
  9. 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.
  10. Elliot, Richard (July 22, 2019). "State representative says she was 'scared for her life' during Publix incident". WSB-TV Atlanta. Retrieved July 23, 2019.
  11. Johnson, Larry Felton (July 23, 2019). "Cobb Police: No Charges In Publix Incident Involving Erica Thomas". Retrieved July 28, 2019.
  12. "Witness disputes Erica Thomas's claims".
  13. Cleary, Tom (July 21, 2019). "Eric Sparkes: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know". Heavy.com. Retrieved July 2, 2020.
  14. "White man denies saying 'Go back where you came from'". The Washington Post. Associated Press. July 20, 2019. Retrieved July 21, 2019.
  15. Bufkin, Ellie (July 21, 2019). "Georgia state Rep. Erica Thomas backtracks on racism accusations". The Washington Post. Retrieved July 21, 2019.
  16. "2015 Annual Youth Achievement Luncheon" (PDF). 100 Black Men of North Metro, Inc. April 11, 2015. Retrieved January 25, 2017.
  17. Caslin, Yvette (March 22, 2016). "Atlanta's Leading Ladies at Walker's Legacy Women's Leadership Brunch". Rolling Out. Retrieved January 25, 2017.
  18. "NAN Honors Women Who Answered The Call To Action". National Action Network. September 17, 2015. Retrieved January 25, 2017.
Political offices
Preceded by
Alisha Thomas Morgan		 Georgia State Representative
2014–present		 Succeeded by
Incumbent
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