EVANGELINE PARISH — During a time when segregation limited opportunities for Black business owners, one man in Mamou refused to let closed doors define his future.
For Black History Month, we share the story of Jimmy Thomas, a longtime businessman who built his legacy one barrel of gas at a time.
On a corner in Mamou sits more than just a mechanic shop, it sits a piece of local history.
At 85 years old, Jimmy Thomas is still running the business he has owned for more than six decades.
“I am still working,” Thomas said with a smile.
Thomas bought the property in 1960, just one year after graduating high school.
But his path to business ownership was not easy.
After graduating in 1959, Thomas said he struggled to find work as a carpenter during segregation.
“No, they didn’t want to give me no work, so I took off in ’59,” he said.
He traveled to Houston, where he discovered his passion for cars and mechanics. When he returned home to Mamou, he worked for a Black business owner who operated a gas station. Within a year, Thomas purchased the station himself, becoming the second African American man to own a full-service gas station in Mamou.
Owning a business in the segregated South came with challenges. Thomas said some white-owned fuel suppliers refused to extend him credit, preventing him from purchasing gasoline the same way other station owners could.
Instead, he paid up front and hauled fuel himself.
Thomas traveled 20 miles each day from Mamou to Ville Platte to buy gasoline, unloading the barrels into underground tanks on his own.
“I would go get a load, dump it into those tanks all by myself and when it would get low, I’d go back and get some more,” he said.
Thomas and his wife, Beatrice, worked side by side washing cars, changing oil and greasing vehicles to keep the business afloat.
“God has been blessing me. I came from a long way. My wife and I worked together,” he said.
In 1974, the gas station transitioned into a full mechanic shop, expanding to four service bays. Even during segregation, Thomas said he wanted his business to welcome everyone.
“I wanted to integrate my place also,” he said.
He hired a white employee at a time when many businesses in the area remained divided by race.
From picking cotton as a young boy to becoming one of the oldest Black mechanics in Mamou, Thomas built a reputation for hard work and resilience.
“Oh my goodness… eighty-five,” he said when asked his age. “I’ll be eighty-six on April the 20th and still working.”
Beyond business, Thomas also made history in local politics. He became the first Black man to run for the Evangeline Parish Police Jury and later served on the Mamou City Council in the 1980s, advocating for civil rights and equality. With support from local leaders, he helped name the street where he works after Martin Luther King Jr..
“MLK is a name we need to remember,” Thomas said.
Now a husband, father of four and grandfather, Thomas reflects on more than 66 years in business.
“I love what I do,” he said. “I was a hustler, just trying to make it. I stood up and I fought.”
Thomas said when he eventually decides to retire, he plans to pass the business down to one of his daughters or his only grandson. For now, however, he is focused on continuing the work he loves and celebrating his upcoming 86th birthday in April.
