“Able” Mable Thomas
“Able” Mable Thomas is the Founding Director of The Greater Vine City Opportunities Program, Inc. She is the former Georgia State Representative, 56th District, State Representative "Able" Mable Thomas. For over 28 years, “Able” Mable Thomas has been at the forefront fighting for freedom, justice, and equality for all Georgians and disenfranchised people around the world. Whether as a community organizer, civil and human rights activist, or elected official, she has been a consistent force for good.
Her emergence onto the political stage began in 1984 when she was chosen as a presidential delegate for candidate Reverend Jesse Jackson at the Democratic National Convention held in San Francisco, California. While there, she formally announced her candidacy for the Georgia House of Representatives where she eventually won a highly contested battle with a long-standing incumbent. During her 18 years in office, Mable was the youngest member of the House but mature beyond her years from the experience she gained as a community leader and civil rights activist.
In 1997, she again sought public office winning the Atlanta City Council, Post 1 At-Large seat which allowed her to focus on quality of life issues most impacting people throughout Atlanta.
She is a veteran in leadership, with proven results, who has historically represented the people with respect and humility. As a member of the Atlanta City Council, she was responsible for passing the Affordable Housing Policy Bill, obtaining $4.9 million for Atlanta Green Space Conservation, and was a major stakeholder in community efforts to secure the Historic Westside Revitalization Project. As a state legislator, Mable consistently voted in favor of public policy that improved the lives of people. Read more
Whether it was educational reform, women’s reproductive health, living wages, racial profiling, economic development, access to health care or senior issues, Mable was always willing and ABLE to stand up and speak out. An example of her dynamism was the passage of landmark legislation requiring mammograms, pap smears and prostate exams to be covered under medical expenses thus saving many Georgians thousands of dollars in doctor bills. The film industry in Georgia has generated an economic impact of over 9 billion due to the Film Tax Credit in 2008. Representative Thomas traveled throughout the state of Georgia to gather information on improving the inclusion of minorities in the industry. Based on testimonies and other findings, Thomas presented an Executive Summary to the Speaker of the House for recommendations to create Jobs for Georgians.
Professionally, Mable has been extremely successful as executive director of the Greater Vine City Opportunities Program, Inc., which provides youth and family enrichment and educational opportunities for high-risk urban youth. She was able to purchase the Historic English Avenue Elementary School in the English Avenue community which will be converted into a multi-million dollar state-of-the-art, environmentally friendly, high-tech, global community center. This project reflects trends, nuances, and the tangible output of national thought leaders as it brings the most current ideas and innovations for neighborhood revitalization to inner-city, Black, marginalized communities. This is yet another example of her passion to change the world, one person at a time, one block at a time, one community at a time.