Making a Difference: Bea Thompson

Greg Wilson/Anderson Observer

Few living citizens of the City of Anderson can match her accomplishments and legacy.

Anderson County Councilwoman Bea Thompson, the eight of nine children, was born on a large farm along the Seneca River, which her family had to sell when work began on Hartwell Lake.

The move led to her attending the historic Reed Street School in Anderson, which was important to her parents. But even that required her to live in a boarding house in the city during the school week. Upon graduation, with the help of her oldest sister, Jesse, and a $100 scholarship which she won in a statewide contest, Thompson was able to attend South Carolina State, where she earned a degree in English and French. (She later earned a doctorate in education psychology from the University Georgia).

“That’s the way it worked,” said Thompson. “You reach back and pull the other one up.”

After graduating college, she returned to her first teaching assignment – at Reed Street School. She later moved to teach at Westside. While teaching, she saw a story of a young girl overdosing on drugs, and wanted to do something about it.

“It hit me so bad, I decided to talk to Mayor Darwin Wright,” said Thompson.

She asked what could be done, and went to the city council where she saw a sea of white faces on the council and on the pictures on the wall. Thompson wanted to see change.

“It was tough, because four black persons had already run for city council and been defeated.”

But in 1976, Thompson was elected the first African-American to serve on Anderson City Council, and she still holds her seat almost half a century later.

Thompson has also served as president of the South Carolina Municipal Association, a national delegate to the Democratic Party, the Advisory Board at Winthrop College, and a community advocate that continues to help Anderson.

The Westside Community Center has become a hub for education and civic activity, and the establishment of the Church Street Heritage Plaza to remember the businesses and importance of the area (where her husband ran a restaurant) are tributes to her efforts.

The city has also honored Thompson by naming a park after her, one which was recently upgraded with a new playground, and for which council approved additional upgrades earlier this year.