Biography
Thomas Walter Gaither, born in Great Falls, South Carolina, was a Claflin College graduate and CORE field secretary who organized and trained the Friendship Junior College students behind the Rock Hill "jail, no bail" protest — he was not one of the eight Friendship students himself. Ten men were arrested at the McCrory's lunch counter on January 31, 1961; one paid his fine, while Gaither and eight Friendship students refused the fines and served the hard-labor sentence at the York County Prison Farm, becoming known collectively as the Friendship Nine. Convicted February 1, he began the sentence on February 2 and was released on March 2, 1961, two days before the nominal completion of the thirty-day term. He later earned a PhD and taught biology at Slippery Rock University in Pennsylvania from 1968 until his retirement. He died on December 23, 2024 in Prospect, Pennsylvania.
Calculated release date for the stay beginning August 17, 1960: August 26, 1960. Using inclusive calendar-day counting for the recorded 10-day stay, adding 9 days gives this date, consistent with the August26 trial and return to protest by the next day. The inclusive counting method follows that chronology. This is a calculated date from the recorded admission and duration, not a separately documented physical-discharge date.
Calculated release date
Calculated release date for the stay beginning August 17, 1960: August 26, 1960. Using inclusive calendar-day counting for the recorded 10-day stay, adding 9 days gives this date, consistent with the August26 trial and return to protest by the next day. The inclusive counting method follows that chronology. This is a calculated date from the recorded admission and duration, not a separately documented physical-discharge date.
