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About the mural: 

Bishop Alexis A. Thomas

Bishop Alexis A. Thomas was born in Phoenix, Arizona on November 9, 1967, to Reverend and Mrs. Hubert Thomas. He was the third of four sons. In 1975, at the young age of seven, Bishop Thomas received his license to preach the gospel. After serving as an Associate Minister at Pilgrim Rest Baptist Church, he was named Pastor at the age of 16 in an historic event in the State of Arizona. He served as Senior Pastor for 33 years.  

Under his leadership, Pilgrim Rest Baptist Church grew from 250 members to more than 5,000, which initiated the need for a new sanctuary. Bishop Thomas' vision for Pilgrim Rest was a three-phased campus which included a Worship Center, Word Center, and Wellness Center to meet the needs of families.  Phase one of that vision came to fruition on Palm Sunday, April of 2000 when the saints of Pilgrim Rest prayed and marched into their new, modern Worship Center. Phase two, a three-story education and executive office complex was opened in 2003. The Word Center welcomed Teleos Preparatory Academy a K-8 charter school in 2009. The construction of phase three, the Wellness Center was initiated with a groundbreaking ceremony in November 2005, and completed in 2007. With sustained growth, the Lord led Pilgrim Rest to establish its very first satellite campus in Gilbert, Arizona in 2010. Bishop Thomas earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Biblical Studies from Southwestern Bible College in Phoenix, Arizona, and he also attended The Graduate School of Episcopal Studies. 

In 2003, after having served for 19 years as Senior Pastor of Pilgrim Rest, he was ordained as Bishop of the State of Arizona in the Full Gospel Baptist Church Fellowship. He later served as the Executive Assistant to the Presiding Bishop of Global United Fellowship.  In addition to his ministry work, Bishop Thomas served the Arizona community in various capacities. He served on the Board of Directors of the Greater Phoenix Black Chamber of Commerce and General Chairman of the African American Christian Clergy Coalition, which he founded in 2001. 

Bishop Thomas wrote and performed the song “Brand New Day" on the Pilgrim Rest Mass Choir CD, which was released in May of 2001. He founded Alexis Thomas Ministries^® (ATM), and the Fresh Rain Annual Conference which was inaugurated in January 2004.  Bishop Thomas' vision for Fresh Rain comes from the charge “to make every year a new year and not the same year all over again."  Bishop Thomas authored and published his first book titled “A Child Shall Lead Them" in 2005. This book chronicles the journey God led him through in the first 36 years of his life and leaves the reader waiting to read the rest of his journey. 

Bishop Thomas married Dr. Michele Thomas, who served her country as a Major in the United States Air Force. He was the proud and loving father of five boys, Shimond, Remone, Jamell, and twin boys, Micah and Micaiah, from his previous marriage with Doretta Thomas. He was a dynamic preacher who was passionate about proclaiming the Good News of Jesus Christ to the masses.  A charismatic leader who committed his life to serving God, serving his people, and being led by the Holy Spirit to carry out the vision God had placed in his heart.  Bishop Thomas was called home to glory, January 18, 2018.

​Calvin C. Goode

Calvin Coolidge Goode was born on January 27, 1927, in rural DePew, Okla., to Warner and Clara Loring Goode. He was the third child from this union. Calvin's family moved to Arizona when he was 10 months old. They settled in a homestead near Gila Bend, Ariz. where they worked in agricultural fields picking cotton. Calvin began attending high school in Prescott, Ariz.​ before graduating from Phoenix's Carver High School, built exclusively for African Americans, during a time of school segregation, in 1945. He then attended Phoenix College and Arizona State University where he obtained his B.A. and M.A. degrees. He later received an honorary doctorate from Everest College Phoenix. Calvin was a longtime member of Historic Tanner Chapel AME Church, where he served in a number of capacities including trustee, chair of Tanner Properties, and member of the Expansion Committee. He remained a faithful member throughout the rest of his life.

​In fall 1959, Calvin who resided in Phoenix was introduced by a mutual friend E.E. Roberts to Atlanta resident Georgie Mae Stroud. The two began corresponding via written letters and telephone. In December 1959, Calvin traveled with E.E. to Atlanta where Calvin and Georgie met and fell in love. Sometime later, Calvin proposed to Georgie over the telephone. On July 9, 1960, Calvin and Georgie married in Atlanta and established a home in the Eastlake Park neighborhood in Phoenix. From this union three sons were born, Vernon, Jerald, and Randolph. 

A staunch advocate of education, Calvin worked for 30 years in the Phoenix Union High School District as unit budget manager and later school community worker where he worked tirelessly to provide resources to help keep high school students in school. He also owned and operated Calvin Goode & Associates Tax & Accounting. Calvin lived a life of community service through a wide range of organizations including work with the Phoenix LEAP Commission, NAACP., Phoenix Sister Cities Commission, Sickle Cell Anemia Society, and Phi Iota Chapter of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. 

Mr. Goode served continuously on the Phoenix City Council from January 2, 1972 – January 3, 1994, serving 11 consecutive terms. He was the longest tenured elected official in the history of the City of Phoenix, serving as Vice Mayor in 1974 and 1984. 

Guided by a deeply held belief in God and the equality of all people, he exemplified a powerful commitment to improving the quality of life in Phoenix, especially for young people. He applied the lessons learned from a background of poverty and discrimination to advocate for equal opportunity for all and was often referred to as the “Conscience of the Council." 

He strived to provide affordable housing opportunities for those in need and championed educational programs. He also promoted employment, job training, and business opportunities through the Job Training Partnership Act and minority and woman-owned business programs. He had a strong concern for families and children which resulted in the development of an effective Head Start program. He also was instrumental in ensuring that the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. holiday was observed by the City of Phoenix and provided strong committee leadership at the Maricopa Association of Governments and the National League of Cities. In 1994, the Phoenix City Hall was renamed the Calvin C. Goode Municipal Building in his honor. 

After retirement, Councilman Goode remained active in the community, serving on the Phoenix Elementary School Board for six years, was active with the Booker T. Washington Child Development Center, the Eastlake Park Neighborhood Association and George Washington Carver Museum and Cultural Center as well as other non-profit and governmental organizations.

Cloves Campbell, Sr. 

Cloves Campbell, Sr. proudly broke barriers throughout his life and fought for the rights of those in need. Mr. Campbell came to Arizona in 1945 at the age of fourteen with his widowed mother, three brothers, and one sister. He grew up at the Matthew Henson Housing Project in Central Phoenix, determined to become educated and help his family to live successfully. While working numerous jobs, Mr. Campbell was also a star athlete in high school and college. After a stint in the U.S. Army, marrying, and starting a family, he graduated from  Arizona State University with a teaching degree in 1958.

Cloves Campbell, Sr. soon became involved in community affairs to improve his South Phoenix neighborhood. He was elected to a seat in the Arizona House of Representatives in 1962, and in 1966, he became the first African American elected to the Arizona State Senate. Throughout his ten years in the Arizona Legislature, he fought to improve education and job opportunities for his constituents. He was instrumental in the establishment of South Mountain Community College. As a member of the Arizona Consumer Council, he worked for consumers to have bread and milk labeled with dates. Mr. Campbell introduced legislation in 1970 to create a holiday to honor Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. He said later, “Little did I know that the jury would be out in Arizona for twenty-three years." 

As a state legislator, Cloves Campbell, Sr. considered himself an independent Democrat and proudly stated, “I was unbought and unbossed." He was proud of his reputation for shaking things up at the Capitol: “As an aggressive and articulate Black Senator who was outspoken . . . I did not believe in rocking the boat, I believed in turning the boat over and I wanted to see if the individuals who landed in the water could swim." 

Always active in community organizations. Mr. Campbell was board chairman of the South Phoenix Salvation Army, state president of the Arizona chapter of NAACP, and a coach for Pop Warner Football. Cloves Campbell, Sr. also worked 31 years for Arizona Public Service, beginning as a night janitor while he was in school, and later in Public Affairs when he created Project GO, a program that encouraged young people to turn their dreams into reality through education. 

Cloves Campbell, Sr.  was disappointed for many years that the Arizona news media did not cover the accomplishments and activities of the African American community. In 1969, he became owner and co-publisher of the Arizona Informant, using the slogan, “We Record Black History . . . 98% of Our News, You Won't Find in Any Other News Media in Arizona." For many years he was editor, reporter, and photographer. It was always a family business, first with his brothers and later with his sons. Today, the award-winning Arizona Informant is the state's oldest and largest African American weekly newspaper. 

Throughout his life, Cloves Campbell made his home, raised four children, and ran his business in South Phoenix. He believed in working from within to improve the community. He told successful residents, “You, as leaders, need to stay where the teenagers are, to present an 'image' they can look up to." He proudly titled his autobiography, “I Refused to Leave the Hood." 

Elizabeth J. White

Mrs. Elizabeth J. White never planned or envisioned becoming a business trailblazer, or icon. The rise was not quick by any means. There were many days, months, and years she did not know if the plan to move her young family from her Texas roots to the Grand Canyon state was going to pan out. She had accepted an invitation from her brother – the late Bishop Floyd Jimmerson to come out and assist him with a “thriving business." The Business was not thriving – it was barely surviving. 

A deeply religious individual, Ms. White relates having heard a voice telling her to go to El Paso. El who? Her brother was in Arizona, and she believed with (4) young children in tow, the sure thing was to go to the Arizona. She wondered what life would have been like had she heeded the voice? There are many things that she did make to make Arizona her home. In doing so, she took over that struggling business and turned it one of the most renowned eateries in the Southwest.​ 

In October 2023, Mrs. White, for her many years in business, sharing her small business with the community and providing opportunities for individuals to learn the business and become self-sufficient in their own regard, she became the first African American woman to be inducted into the History Makers Hall of Fame, a program sponsored every other year by the Arizona  Historical Society. She joins an impressive list of Phoenix trailblazers including, Cloves Campbell, Sr., Dr. Gene Grigsby, Dr. Warren Stewart, Eddie Basha, the Honorable Calvin C. Goode, and her induction class included former Phoenix Mayor Terry Goddard and other notables. 

Mrs. White was among the leaders in desegregating dining facilities in Phoenix during the mid-1960s. The Golden Rule Cafe, located at 1029 East Jefferson Street at the time, lived up to its name by welcoming all to enjoy good food, at reasonable prices. In 1976, Ms. White pioneered smokeless dining in Phoenix and the Southwest. This decision was met with harsh resentment, threats that the business would close however, Ms. White trusted and persevered. 

Many Civil Rights conversations and meetings took place at the Golden Rule Cafe in the 60s – early 80s. Besides the local clergy that included, Dr. George Brooks, Dr. Black, and Bishop Henry Barnwell, national figures such as Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton visited the Café. 

As Phoenix sports and entertainment grew, many star athletes and artists found their way to the Golden Rule, affectionately referred to as Mrs. White's Café. Such notables as Phoenix Suns NBA legends Connie Hawkins, Walter Davis, Garfield Heard, Alvin Adams, the Van Arsdales (Dick and Tom), and Sir Charles Barkley.  Other notable sports figures who dined at Mrs. White's Café included NBA legend Shaquille O'Neal and Pro Football Hall of Famer Deion Sanders. 

Mrs. White has been amply aided in the business by her son Larry, Sr. who played a significant role from the beginning. He has turned over the day-to-day operation to his daughter Kianna and most have dined at his son's multiple establishments Lolo's Chicken & Waffles. Success breeds success. 

Mrs. White's success lies in the simple phrase, “Good Food is not cheap, and Cheap Food is not Good, We serve Good Food at Reasonable Prices." And “We will not serve anything to you (customers) that we would not eat ourselves……We've fed generations!" 

​
George Greathouse Sr. 

George Greathouse was born on October 23rd, 1936, in Tollette, AR.  He moved to Phoenix AZ at the age of 6-years old. 

He attended Carver High School his Freshman and Sophomore years before the school closed in 1954.  He lettered in basketball, football, and track.  However, football became his favorite sport.  He won 2 state championships and was All-State while scoring 36 touchdowns in his 1st two years of high school. 

He attended Phoenix Union High School after the closure of Carver.  There he became one of the first people to become a “one-name" person, “Greathouse".  Greathouse won 2 more state championships at Phoenix Union, earning All-State honors 2 more times while setting the State record in touchdowns with 63.  The touchdown record stood from 1953 -1986. He attended Arizona State University for 2 years.  He decided to go to barber school when football began to feel like a job instead of a game.  

In 1963, He opened Esquire Barber shop at 1153 E. Jefferson.  Esquire became a destination barbershop for the Valley and the famous stars that visited.  Stars such as Phoenix Suns Connie Hawkins and Kevin Johnson, Harlem Globetrotter Meadowlark Lemon, boxing greats Muhammad Ali, Joe Louis, and Sugar Ray Leonard, and Olympic great Jesse Owens. 

In 1981 he built the new barbershop at the same address.  It was a first of a kind, state of the art barbershop, that included a beauty salon, restaurant, private office, and separate private bathrooms. 

George loved to talk and give advice/words of encouragement to the youth. He cut hair, gave advice, and loved people at Esquire Barbershop for 52 years until he retired in 2017. 

George married his high school sweetheart Betty Greathouse, and had 3 sons, George Greathouse Jr., Howard Greathouse and Arthur Greathouse. 

Re-wed after 26 years Velma Greathouse 1982 – 2021. 

Laid to rest April 17th, 2021.

Helen Mason 

Helen Mason (1912-2003) - Helen Katherine Mason's vision and dedication opened new frontiers for youth of color and built bridges between races and ethnicities.  Born December 28, 1912, in Phoenix, Helen was the oldest of five children. Three years before her birth, the Territorial Legislature passed a law allowing Arizona school districts to segregate African Americans from students of other racial backgrounds. She grew up in a segregated city, separated from the white community in housing, restaurants, theaters, hotels, clubs, and swimming pools. 

She graduated from Phoenix Union Colored High School and soon moved to Los Angeles, California, where she attended the Frank Wiggins Trade School graduating as a cosmetologist. 

She returned to Phoenix during World War II, married Carl Mason and raised five children. In 1958, she graduated with distinction from Arizona State University receiving her Bachelor of Arts degree in Recreation. She was the first African American Woman to reach the level of Supervisor within the City's Parks and Recreation Department.  She worked her way through the ranks and retired after 23 years of dedicated service. 

While working with the City of Phoenix, Helen discovered that African American youth and adults were not receiving the same opportunities for cultural enrichment and expression as members of the white community.  She soon became known for her innovative youth programs at East Lake Park where she held art, dance, and theater classes for under-served youth.  At the same time, she was approached by a small group of inner-city students who loved to write and recite poetry. Together, they formed a group that provided the catalyst for what would later become the Back Theatre Troupe. 

They soon began performing in parks, schools, community meetings and the Sydney P. Osborn Housing Project. Their popularity grew quickly and soon they began showcasing their talents for singing, acting, and dancing. With a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities and support from the black community, Helen founded the Black Theater Troupe in 1970 and became its first Executive Director. The theater was the first of its kind in the Four Corners area. Through Helen's hard work, the Theater became an oasis in providing a much-needed platform for showcasing cultural diversity through the performing arts and for giving a voice to the rich legacy that comes from people of color. 

As a result of Helen's dedication, she was instrumental in guiding the lives of hundreds of African American youths in positive directions through music, art, dance, and sports. The Black Theater Troupe continues her legacy conducting educational workshops and outreach programs that focus on low-income and under-served communities and provides opportunities for people of color to perform.
 

Lincoln Ragsdale, Sr., PhD 

Lincoln Ragsdale, Sr., PhD. was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Army Air Corps in November 1945 after completing his pilot training at Tuskegee Army Airfield in Alabama as a member of Class 45H. He was one of 11 blacks selected by the War Department for gunnery training at Luke Air Force Base as part of several integration experiments which influenced President Harry S. Truman's desegregation of the military through Executive Order 9981 in 1948. After his military service he continued his interest in aviation, flying out of Sky Harbor International Airport as a civilian pilot and serving as a member of the Phoenix Aviation Advisory Board in the 1970's. 

He was deeply involved in the civil rights movement in Arizona. As head of the Phoenix branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, he played a major role in organizing and leading sit-ins in the early 1960's and, among other things, helped integrate the Encanto School District. 

Lincoln Ragsdale, Sr. was a graduate of Arizona State University and earned a doctorate in business administration from Union Graduate School in Cincinnati. He became a successful businessman with diverse interests in a variety of businesses, including insurance in Arizona, Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana and Texas, and real estate development and mortuaries in Arizona. He served on more than a dozen boards, including those of the National Conference of Christians and Jews and the National Urban League. In his honor, the Executive Terminal at Sky Harbor International Airport, used as a secured reception area for dignitaries and other groups, bears his name. 

​Morrison Warren 

Mr. Warren broke color barriers in Arizona State College football. He also broke through another color barrier as the first black councilman on the Phoenix City Council. He served Arizona as a public-school teacher, principal, and college professor. His opportunities came at a price. His father, Fred, only had a third-grade education and didn't want his wife to work. Warren's mother, a college trained schoolteacher, stayed home with Warren and his three siblings. 

In 1925, they moved the family from Marlin, Texas, to Phoenix, so their children could have more opportunities. Warren was 15 months old.  His father didn't want to raise his children in Texas because of the racism, lack of opportunity and he wanted the best for his children.    

In 1966, Warren was a member of a committee to find strong candidates for the Phoenix City Council, but his name kept popping up as a potential candidate.  Mr. Warren ran for City Council, won the election, was re-elected two years later, and selected by his peers to be Vice-Mayor.  Back then the City Council served the city as a whole rather than individual districts.  During his tenure on the City Council, Mr. Warren worked with fellow councilmembers like John F. Long to develop a masterplan for the city which included a downtown civic center.       

Long said that at the time, downtown Phoenix was dead after about 5 or 6 p.m. "We needed a convention center," he said. From that, came hotels, restaurants, theaters and most recently, athletic facilities. 

Mr. Warren's political career which began in 1966 ended in 1970 after he accepted a full-time teaching position in Arizona State University's College of Education in 1968. 

It wasn't the first time that Warren chose education over another job. In the 1920s and '30s, when he was growing up, “the only jobs available to educated blacks were in ministry or education," he said. 

Warren attended what became George Washington Carver High School and is now George Washington Carver Museum and Cultural Center in Phoenix. It was Phoenix Union Colored High School when he graduated valedictorian in 1941. 

Soon after graduation, he enlisted in the military and headed to World War II' s European theater as a sergeant major, the highest rank for an enlisted man. There were 13 officers and 13 enlisted men in his outfit. During his military service, Warren realized he could go further in college. 

"All of the officers, except the minister, were white," he said. "I found that I was as bright as they were and knew I could do it." When he returned from Europe, he used the G.I. bill to continue college. 

Warren studied elementary education and played football at Arizona State College. He was one of only two black players on the team. 

"He is a legend as an athlete and a person who so proudly carried himself so well at this University during an awful period of segregation," said former Arizona State University President, Lattie Coor. 

Warren was a student during a critical time in American history, said Larry Campbell, a ­retired American history teacher at Corona del Sol High School in Tempe. 

Warren graduated with honors in 1948 and went on to play professional football with the Brooklyn Dodgers, an early NFL team. The fullback was the only black player on the team and one of few in the league. 

In the second game of the season, Warren separated· his shoulder and was forced to return to Phoenix. He was later offered a contract to play with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Warren would have been the first black player on the team, but he turned down the offer. 

"I was 25 years old and had two children," he recalled. "I knew I was good enough to play with them, but I had other things to do."  Those things included teaching and working toward an advanced degree. 

"It's what student-athletes should be all about," Coor said. "He was successful as a young athlete, which is a special attribute of a young student, and he built on that to become a significant professional.""My involvement in public education is my most significant accomplishment," Warren said. 

Warren taught fifth grade at Dunbar Elementary School in Phoenix while he was completing his master's degree in educational administration and Supervision. 

After five years at Dunbar, at the age of 29, Warren became principal at Booker T. Washington Elementary School, his alma mater. 

In 15 years as Booker T. Washington's principal, Warren said his greatest accomplishment was successfully leading children from economically deprived environments to continue their education. 

Zona Lorig, past president of the Arizona Historical League, said she admired Warren for what he has accomplished in the face of adversity. A person could get very discouraged and very frustrated," she said. "But he has always maintained such an upbeat attitude and accomplished so much. 

Mr. Warren served on  the Arizona Public Service board from 1972 to 1994. He passed away in 2002. 

Dr. Warren H. Stewart, Sr.

​Dr. Warren H. Stewart Sr. has been Senior Pastor of the First Institutional Baptist Church of Phoenix, Arizona since July 1977. His ministry is characterized by an unwavering commitment and Spirit-filled zeal to engage in evangelism and emancipation, meeting the needs of the whole person. He is also recognized by others as “a man of conscience, commitment and dedication to the cause of moral leadership, human rights and a soldier of justice and equality". Stewart has been cited as one of the most influential religious leaders in Arizona and the nation, and his ministry extends internationally. 

Dr. Stewart organized and led two broad-based coalitions, Arizonans for a Martin Luther King, Jr. State Holiday and Victory Together, Inc., that campaigned for a Martin Luther King, Jr./Civil Rights Day in Arizona which was won by a historic vote of the people in the general election on November 3, 1992, after a decades-long fight. In 2015, he was inducted into the 30th Anniversary of the Martin Luther King, Jr. College of Clergy & Laity, Board of Preachers in the Morehouse College Martin Luther King, Jr. International Chapel, Atlanta, GA. Pastor Stewart is a husband, father, grandfather, and mentor who has also earned five degrees, including the Doctor of Ministry degree from American Baptist Seminary of the West, Berkeley, CA. He is the author of five books. His first book is Interpreting God's Word in Black Preaching (in its fifth printing) and his latest is titled, Victory Together for Martin Luther King, Jr.: The Story of Dr. Warren H. Stewart, Sr., Governor Evan Mecham and the Historic Battle for a Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday in Arizona.

Rev. Dr. Benjamin N. Thomas, Sr. 

Reverend Dr. Benjamin N. Thomas, Sr. was raised and educated in Kansas City, Missouri. Reverend Thomas entered the United States Army in 1970 and was commissioned as an officer in 1980, serving as Chaplain in the Army Reserves until 1993. He has special training in clinical pastoral counseling, patient visitation, crisis intervention, and church administration. He is the current pastor of Historic Tanner Chapel African Methodist Episcopal Church, Phoenix, AZ, since 1991. Reverend Thomas is a dedicated family man, married to Beverly K. Thomas. They have one child, Rev. Benjamin Jr., "Rev. BJ," who is a graduate of Southern University in Baton Rouge, LA., and is currently serving as the pastor of Bethel A.M.E. Church in Oxnard, CA. Rev. & Mrs. Thomas also have three grandchildren, Samara Jean, Benjamin Nathaniel III, and Bryson Jerome. 

Education

Reverend Thomas earned his associate degree in psychology from Penn Valley Community College in Kansas City, MO., and his bachelor's degree in business administration with a minor in Psychology from Parks College, Parksville, MO. 

Reverend Thomas began his theological studies at Claremont School of Theology in Claremont, CA., in their Doctor of Ministry Program. He later transferred to Asbury Theological Seminary in Kentucky and completed three years of study through the Beeson Institute for Advanced Church Leadership. 

Reverend Thomas received an honorary Doctorate degree from Southern California School of Ministry in Los Angeles, CA. 

Ministerial Experience

Prior to moving to Phoenix, Arizona in 1991, to become the pastor of Tanner Chapel African Methodist Episcopal (A.M.E.) Church, Reverend Thomas served as the pastor of Price Chapel A.M.E. Church in Los Angeles, CA., Walker Chapel A.M.E. Church in Seattle, WA., and Handy Chapel A.M.E. Church in Joplin, MO. Currently, Reverend Thomas is serving as the Senior Minister and Pastor for Historic Tanner Chapel A.M.E. Church, Phoenix, AZ. 

Church and Community Involvement

During his six years pastoring at Price Chapel A.M.E. Church, Reverend Thomas was actively involved in the community serving on the Board of Directors for such organizations as Emergency Feeding Program, The Inner City Foundation of Excellence in Education, the NAACP (Reverend Thomas is a Life Member), and as the President of the Southern California Conference Ministerial Alliance. 

In addition, since pastoring from 1991 to present, at Historic Tanner, Pastor Thomas has been dedicated to not only his church and church family, but to the community as well. This has afforded him the opportunity to serve his church and community at large. Currently Pastor Thomas serves as:

• Dean of Instruction for the Desert I Mountain Conference Board of Examiners
• Treasurer for the Desert I Mountain Conference of the African Methodist Episcopal Church
• Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Board of Directors for Tanner Community Development Corporation (TCDC). Pastor Thomas founded TCDC in 2000.
  
  Dr. Thomas also serves on:
  

• Mayor Kate Gallego's Advisory Board for Phoenix, Arizona; Mayor Gallego's African American Task Force.
• Arizona Attorney General African American Advisory Board
  
  Dr. Thomas is a member of the following organizations: 

• NAACP Life Member
• Faith Opportunity Zone Faith Initiative (FOZ)
• Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc.
  
  Dr. Thomas' previous areas of service include: 

• Arizona Department of Economic Security Board of Directors (4 years)
• Central Arizona Shelter Service (CASS) Board of Directors (4 years)
• Fifth District Economic Development Board of the African Methodist Episcopal Church (12 years)
• General Board for the Connectional African Methodist Episcopal Church (12 years)
• NAACP Executive Board (4 years)
• National Advisory Board of Directors for Chase Bank (4 years)
• Chair of the Arizona Commission on African American Affairs for the State of Arizona
• Co-Chair of the African American Christian Clergy Coalition 
  
  Dr. Thomas' success as a pastor and community leader has been very rewarding personally and professionally. He has been the recipient of several awards. A few are listed below: 
• 2016 Arizona Informant Newsmaker Award
• 2012 Whitney M. Young Jr. Service Award
• 2007 Positive Images Sports Saving a Generation Award
• 2006 Martin Luther King Living the Dream Award
• 2005 Pastor of the Year Award from the Desert Mountain Conference of the African Methodist Episcopal Church
• J. W. Robinson Society United Black Firefighter Community A ward and
• NAACP Millennium Pacesetters Award

Virgil J. Berry, Sr. 

Virgil J. Berry, Sr., was born on June 13, 1931, in Slidell, Texas. Berry was the sixth of ten children.  After graduating from Douglas High School in Ardmore, Oklahoma in 1950, Virgil moved to Arizona that same year.  In 1952 he graduated from Phoenix College and later earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in managerial accounting from Arizona State University.  He was also a proud U.S. Army veteran.  During this time, Berry met and married Doris Golden, and their marriage lasted for an impressive 42 years. 

In 1960, Berry ounded Berry Realty and embarked on numerous residential and commercial projects.  One of his notable achievements was being the first developer to construct a commercial building in the newly designated Booker T. Washington Redevelopment area. 

Berry was a strong proponent of quality housing for all people.  He developed housing in the Eastlake Neighborhood for over 35 years.  He also developed commercial properties for businesses in the Eastlake Neighborhood.  He was able to do this despite the redlining and discrimination policies that were in use for decades. 

Berry was actively involved in various community boards and associations, including:

• Board of Directors – Private Industry Council
• Board of Directors – United Methodist Development Board
• Board of Directors – Phoenix Urban League
• Board of Directors, Treasurer – Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity
• Advisory Board - U.S. Military Candidate Appointments
• Member – Phoenix East Lake Redevelopment Committee
• Member – Veteran of Foreign Wars
• Treasurer – Wesley United Methodist Church 
  
  Berry received several well- deserved honors during his lifetime, including: 

• Historic Tanner Chapel AME Church:  Businessman of the Year Award
• Valley Christian Center:  Man of the Year Award
• Masonic Lodge:  Outstanding Contribution Award
  
  Berry's dedication to his community, successful business ventures, and service to various organizations left a lasting impact, making him a respected and honored figure in his lifetime.
  

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