On May 14, 1961, outside Anniston, Alabama, Hank Thomas and other Freedom Riders huddled on a Greyhound bus as a white mob threw a firebomb inside. RELATED: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GOt8RmB94f8 Thick smoke billowed out of the shattered bus windows surrounding him, curling in the southern heat. It mixed with a chorus of screams, flung with venom from the mob encircling the marooned Greyhound bus. Inside, he and his fellow passengers crawled between seats through broken glass, gagging as a gritty soot coated their throats. » Subscribe to USA TODAY: http://bit.ly/1xa3XAh » Watch more on this and other topics from USA TODAY: https://bit.ly/3l84fdO » USA TODAY delivers current local and national news, sports, entertainment, finance, technology, and more through award-winning journalism, photos, videos and VR.