Thomas W. Anderson, a native of Virginia

Virginia

The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...

, was educated at the Keystone-Eckman High School, Keystone, West Virginia

Keystone, West Virginia

Keystone is a town in McDowell County, West Virginia, USA. The population was 453 at the 2000 census. Keystone is one of several incorporated towns in West Virginia with an African-American majority, with 72 percent of the residents being black....

, the Bluefield Colored Institute

Bluefield State College

Bluefield State College is a historically black college located in Bluefield, West Virginia, United States. It is a part of West Virginia's public education system and offers baccalaureate and associate degrees. The school is not connected in any way with Bluefield College in nearby Bluefield,...

, Bluefield, West Virginia

Bluefield, West Virginia

Bluefield is a city in Mercer County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 10,447 at the 2010 census. It is also the core city of the Bluefield WV-VA micropolitan area which has a population of 107,342.-Geography & Climate:...

, and Walden University, Nashville, Tennessee

Nashville, Tennessee

Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...

. He was connected with the National Baptist Publishing House, Nashville, Tennessee for seven years; was ordained as a Baptist minister in 1918 by Rev. R. L. Bradby of the Second Baptist Church, Detroit, Michigan

Detroit, Michigan

Detroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River...

, and was pastor of the Second Baptist Church, Adrian, Michigan

Adrian, Michigan

As of the 2010 census Adrian had a population of 21,133. The racial and ethnic makeup of the population was 84.1% white, 4.4% black or African American, 0.6% Native American, 0.9% Asian, 5.9% from some other race and 4.0% from two or more races...

 for about eighteen months. He was elected clerk of the Chain Lake Association. He served as an elected member of the Hamtramck, Michigan

Hamtramck, Michigan

Hamtramck is a city in Wayne County of the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 22,423. Hamtramck is surrounded by the city of Detroit except for a small portion of the western border that touches the similarly surrounded city of Highland Park...

 Township Review on the Republican ticket in 1919; was appointed water inspector and assistant clerk of the village council of Hamtramck in October 1919. He was deputy sheriff and member of the Wayne County

Wayne County, Michigan

-History:Wayne County was one of the first counties formed when the Northwest Territory was organized. It was named for the American general "Mad Anthony" Wayne. It originally encompassed the entire area of the Lower Peninsula of Michigan, as well as small sections that are now part of northern...

 Republican Committee, president of the Hamtramck branch of the NAACP, and president of the Adrian Michigan branch, which he organized.

In December 1921 Anderson became Commissioner to Louisiana for the Universal Negro Improvement Association, where he organized 62 divisions and served until the convention of 1922, when he was appointed and elected Assistant Secretary-General. He served in this capacity until April 1923, when he became First Assistant; after about four months he was appointed to the position of Minister of Labor and Industry by the President-General.