Franklin Augustine Thomas is an American businessman and philanthropist who was president and CEO of the Ford Foundation from 1979 until 1996. Since leaving the foundation, Thomas has continued to serve in leadership positions in American corporations and has been on the board of the TFF Study Group, a nonprofit institution assisting development in South Africa since 2005. Thomas was Chairman of the nonprofit organization September 11 Fund from 2001 to 2004 and has been involved in the Nelson Mandela Children's Fund, serving as the manager of its American office.
Early life and education
Franklin Augustine Thomas was born on May 27, 1934 in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn. After the death of his father, his mother, Viola, an immigrant from Barbados, headed the household where he was the youngest of six children as a housekeeper and waitress. He attended the Franklin K. Lane High School. Thomas graduated from Columbia College in 1956, where he was a star basketball player and the first African-American captain of an Ivy League team. He later graduated from the Columbia Law School 1963 after a stint in the Air Force.
Career
Franklin Thomas worked as an attorney for the Federal Housing and Home Finance Agency in 1963. Thomas was named Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York in 1964. He later served as Deputy Police Commissioner in Charge of Legal Matters for the New York City Police Department for two years, starting in 1965; he was the first African-American to hold the position. Thomas was the first president and chief executive officer of Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation, a non-profit community development corporation, from 1967 to 1977. As president and CEO, Thomas led the organization renovating the exteriors of 3,682 buildings and 123 established businesses, and helped create 3,300 new jobs in the 96-block area. After leaving the Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation, Thomas headed a study policy toward South Africa for the Ford Foundation recommending peaceful change. Alan J. Pifer, president of the Carnegie Corporation of New York, deemed it "brilliant." In 1979, Thomas became the first African-American to head a major foundation when he became president of the Ford Foundation, succeeding McGeorge Bundy. As president, he examined the organization's structure, financing and grant-making practices and created a six-part agenda that was intended to regain managerial and financial control which led to mass firings in 1982 prompting criticism from the trustees. In 1996, he left the Ford Foundation to concentrate on the problems and opportunities of South Africa. During his tenure as president, he grew the foundation's portfolio of assets to over $6.5 billion; created new programs including the nation’s largest community development support organization, Local Initiatives Support Corporation ; and expanded its global reach. In October 2001, Thomas was appointed the Chairman of the September 11 Fund, which was created to support the victims, families, and communities affected by the September 11 attacks. He held the position until 2004, overseeing the collection of $534 million and awarding 559 grants totaling $528 million.
In 2016, John Jay College established the Franklin A. Thomas Professorship in Policing Equity with $2.5 million in grants from the Ford Foundation and the Atlantic Philanthropies.. In 2020, Thomas was portrayed by Jay Ellis on the FX and Hulu series Mrs. America.
Personal life
Thomas married Dawn Conrada, later divorcing in 1972. The couple had four children: two boys and two girls. From 1971 to 1974, Thomas was romantically involved with Gloria Steinem after she interviewed him for an article in New York magazine. He later married Kate Roosevelt Whitney. Whitney is the daughter of James Roosevelt, granddaughter of Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harvey Cushing. After her mother divorced James Roosevelt, she remarried to John Hay Whitney, who adopted the daughter.
