United States, Alabama, Dallas County, 32.32597, -87.10648United States, Alabama, Dallas County, Selma, 32.40736, -87.0211United States, Alabama, Pike County, Saco, 31.95515, -85.82078United States, Georgia, Muscogee County, Columbus, 32.46098, -84.98771United States, Tennessee, Davidson County, Nashville, 36.16589, -86.78444Lloyd, Craig2007-08-03Encyclopedia article about Thomas Brewer, an African American physician, who was a leader in the drive for racial equality in Columbus from the 1920s until his assassination on February 18, 1956, which was widely believed to have resulted from his political activism. Brewer, whose death had considerable impact on local race relations, is recognized as a martyr of the national civil rights movement. Born in Saco, Alabama, he attended high school and college in Selma before earning his medical degree from Meharry Medical College in Nashville, Tennessee. In 1920 he joined a thriving black medical community in Columbus, Georgia. He was instrumental in founding a black professional men's service and civic club, Social-Civic-25 Club, in Columbus as well as a local chapter of the NAACP.He led the attack on the all-white primary system in the state of Georgia which resulted in the winning federal court case, King v. Chapman et al., in 1945 and 1946, and he worked for black voter registration, the hiring of black police officers in Columbus, and racial integration of both the public schools, following the Brown v. Board of Education decision in May 1954, and other public facilities.Brewer received death threats as early as the late 1940s and was shot and killed in 1956. Luico Flowers claimed to have shot Brewer in self-defense and his story was accepted by police and a grand jury.The Civil Rights Digital Library received support from a National Leadership Grant for Libraries awarded to the University of Georgia by the Institute of Museum and Library Services for the aggregation and enhancement of partner metadata.GSE identifier: SS8H11text/htmlengForms part of the New Georgia Encyclopedia.http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/Forms part of the New Georgia Encyclopedia.Meharry Medical CollegeSocial-Civic-25 Club (Columbus, Ga.)National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. Columbus Chapter (Columbus, Ga.)Civil rights--Georgia--ColumbusAfrican Americans--Civil rights--Georgia--ColumbusAfrican American physicians--Georgia--ColumbusRace relationsColumbus (Ga.)--Race relations--History--20th centurySchool integration--Georgia--ColumbusSegregation in education--Georgia--ColumbusDiscrimination--Georgia--ColumbusDiscrimination in public accommodations--Georgia--ColumbusRacial discrimination--Georgia--ColumbusRacism--Georgia--ColumbusVoter registration--Georgia--ColumbusVoting--Georgia--ColumbusPrimaries--GeorgiaPolice--Georgia--ColumbusPolice brutality--Georgia--ColumbusAfrican American police--Georgia--ColumbusDeath threats--Georgia--ColumbusAfrican American men--Georgia--ColumbusAfrican American men--DeathAfrican American men--Violence against--Georgia--ColumbusMen--Violence against--Georgia--ColumbusShooting (Execution)--Georgia--ColumbusGunshot wounds--Georgia--ColumbusFirearms--Georgia--ColumbusAssassination--Georgia--ColumbusHomicide--Georgia--ColumbusMurder--Georgia--ColumbusCriminal investigation--Georgia--ColumbusViolent deaths--Georgia--ColumbusViolence--Georgia--ColumbusSelf-defense (Law)--Georgia--ColumbusGrand jury--Georgia--ColumbusThomas Brewer (1894-1956)Text