Thomas Hency Brewer, Sr. (1894–1956) was an

African-American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa. ...

physician A physician, medical practitioner (British English), medical doctor, or simply doctor is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through the Medical education, study, Med ...

, born on November 19, 1894, in Saco,

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

, who was instrumental in the civil rights movement in

Columbus Columbus is a Latinized version of the Italian surname "''Colombo''". It most commonly refers to: * Christopher Columbus (1451–1506), the Italian explorer * Columbus, Ohio, the capital city of the U.S. state of Ohio * Columbus, Georgia, a city i ...

, Georgia during the early- to mid-twentieth century, before he was

assassinated Assassination is the willful killing, by a sudden, secret, or planned attack, of a personespecially if prominent or important. It may be prompted by political, ideological, religious, financial, or military motives. Assassinations are orde ...

in 1956.

Life and death

Brewer was born in Saco, Alabama, graduated from

Selma University Selma University is a private historically black Baptist Bible college in Selma, Alabama, U.S.. It is affiliated with the Alabama State Missionary Baptist Convention. History The institution was founded in 1878 as the Alabama Baptist Normal an ...

Selma, Alabama Selma is a city in and the county seat of Dallas County, in the Black Belt region of south central Alabama and extending to the west. Located on the banks of the Alabama River, the city has a population of 17,971 as of the 2020 census. Abou ...

, then from

Meharry Medical College Meharry Medical College is a private historically black medical school affiliated with the United Methodist Church and located in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in 1876 as the Medical Department of Central Tennessee College, it was the first m ...

in Nashville, Tennessee, and moved to Columbus, Georgia in 1920. He became a respected physician and one of Columbus' most prominent civil rights activists, succeeding in the desegregation of the Columbus, Georgia Police Department, being one of the founders of the city's

NAACP The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is an American civil rights organization formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E. B. Du&nbs ...

chapter, and as a supporter of

Primus King Primus (Latin, 'first') may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities * Primus (DC Comics), a character appearing in comic books published by DC Comics * Primus (Marvel Comics), a character appearing in comic books published by M ...

, among other advocacies. He was active in the Republican Party, serving as a delegate to the

GOP The Republican Party, also known as the Grand Old Party (GOP), is a right-wing political party in the United States. One of the two major parties, it emerged as the main rival of the then-dominant Democratic Party in the 1850s, and the tw ...

National Convention in Philadelphia. On July 4, 1944, Primus E. King, an African-American registered voter, went to the

Muscogee County Muscogee County is a county located on the central western border of the U.S. state of Georgia named after the Muscogee that originally inhabited the land with its western border with the state of Alabama that is formed by the Chattahooche ...

Courthouse in Columbus to cast his vote in the Democratic Party's primary election. He was turned away by law enforcement. Dr. Brewer encouraged and financially supported Mr. King in his lawsuit filed in federal court, styled ''King v. Chapman''. In a landmark ruling, the court found in Mr. King's favor, deciding that the exclusion of black voters was unconstitutional. The U.S. Court of Appeals agreed, which ended the

State of Georgia Georgia is a state in the Southeastern United States. It borders Tennessee and North Carolina to the north, South Carolina and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Florida to the south, and Alabama to the west. Of the 50 U.S. states, Georgia i ...

's "whites only" primaries. Dr. Brewer shared an office building on First Street in Columbus with the F&B Department store, owned by Lucio Flowers. In 1956, the two men witnessed a beating of a black man by police outside of the building. Dr. Brewer and Mr. Flowers argued about the incident: Dr. Brewer believed the police officer used excessive force and Mr. Flowers disagreed. About a week later, on February 18, 1956, Mr. Flowers shot Dr. Brewer seven times and killed him, claiming self-defense. The grand jury believed Mr. Flowers' account of the incident and he was not charged. A year later, Mr. Flowers was found shot dead, in what authorities determined was a suicide. Approximately 2,500 mourners showed up for Dr. Brewer's funeral at the First African Baptist Church on Fifth Avenue. Lillian "Bunky" McClung, the daughter of the first African-American mayor of Columbus, A. J. McClung, recalled the death of Dr. Brewer in a 2015 interview with the Columbus

Ledger-Enquirer The ''Ledger-Enquirer'' is a newspaper headquartered in downtown Columbus, Georgia, in the United States. It was founded in 1828 as the ''Columbus Enquirer'' by Mirabeau B. Lamar who later played a pivotal role in the founding of the Republic o ...

newspaper: ''"Dr. Brewer had been the person behind motivating the people in this community to want more. ... I remember that day he was shot. I remember when my daddy got that phone call and he ran out the door. ... There were several dentists, several doctors in the community ... they all left when Dr Brewer was shot."'' Brewer's wife and daughter left the city, as did Brewer's attorney and several other prominent physicians and businessmen, including Dr. W.G. McCoo, his spouse, Dr. Mary McCoo and their children, including their young daughter

Marilyn McCoo Marilyn McCoo (born September 30, 1943) is an American singer, actress, and television presenter, who is best known for being the lead female vocalist in the group the 5th Dimension as well as hosting the 1980s music television show '' Solid Gol ...

. A

historical marker A commemorative plaque, or simply plaque, or in other places referred to as a historical marker, historic marker, or historic plaque, is a plate of metal, ceramic, stone, wood, or other material, bearing text or an image in relief, or both, ...

placed at the site of his assassination reads ''"Dr. Thomas H. Brewer - A Pike County, Alabama native of African-American descent, Dr. Brewer was born November 16, 1894. His office was located at 1025½ First Avenue. Brewer emerged as a chief spokesman for the civil rights of the

Negro In the English language, the term ''negro'' (or sometimes ''negress'' for a female) is a term historically used to refer to people of Black people, Black African heritage. The term ''negro'' means the color black in Spanish and Portuguese (from ...

and was described by

Roy Wilkins Roy Ottoway Wilkins (August 30, 1901 – September 8, 1981) was an American civil rights leader from the 1930s to the 1970s. Wilkins' most notable role was his leadership of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), ...

of the NAACP as a 'fearless champion of the rights of his people.' His goal to guarantee the Negro the right to vote throughout the State of Georgia and

the South The United Kingdom has a well developed and extensive network of roads totalling about . Road distances are shown in miles or yards and UK speed limits are indicated in miles per hour (mph) or by the use of the national speed limit (NSL) symbol ...

was achieved in the Primus King case in 1945. He was a leader of the local chapter of the NAACP and worked tirelessly for racial equality. Brewer was killed by gunshots February 18, 1956 near this site."'' Brewer Elementary School in Columbus is named in honor of Dr. Brewer. By proclamation issued by the Mayor of Columbus and the Governor of Georgia in 1989, November 19 is designated as "Dr. Thomas H. Brewer, Sr. Day" in the State of Georgia.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brewer, Thomas Assassinated American civil rights activists 20th-century African-American physicians Physicians from Georgia (U.S. state) 1894 births 1956 deaths Activists from Georgia (U.S. state) 20th-century American physicians African-American activists People from Pike County, Alabama