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Hanover Thompson

Released
Gender:Male
Race:Black
Era:1950s
State:North Carolina
Support
Civil Rights
Hanover Thompson

Biography

James Hanover Thompson was a nine-year-old boy at the center of the 'Kissing Case' in Monroe, North Carolina. In October 1958, after a white girl kissed him on the cheek during a children's game, he and seven-year-old David 'Fuzzy' Simpson were arrested, held days without counsel, tried for 'attempted rape,' and committed to a reform school on indeterminate sentences. International protest — and a defense led by Robert F. Williams and the NAACP — won their release in early 1959.

Case

Charges: 'Attempted rape' / assault on females (a white girl kissed him during a game)
Sentence: Indeterminate juvenile sentence to reform school; released in early 1959 after worldwide protest
Convicted: Held in jail without counsel, then committed to the Morrison Training School