Flonzie Brown Wright

Last updated

Flonzie Brown Wright
Born
Flonzie Brown [1]

(1942-08-12) August 12, 1942 (age 81) [2]
Farmhaven, Madison County, Mississippi, U.S.
Other namesFlonzie Brown Goodloe,
Flonzie Brown-Goodloe,
Flonzie Brown-Wright
Education Tougaloo College
Occupation(s)Civil rights activist, voting rights activist, educator, author
Children3
Website Official website

Flonzie Brown-Wright (also known as Flonzie Brown-Goodloe; born 1942) [3] is an American civil rights activist, voting rights activist, educator, and author. [4] [5] In 1968, she was elected Election Commissioner in Canton, becoming the first Black woman elected to a public office in Mississippi since the Reconstruction era. [6] She worked with Martin Luther King Jr. [7]

Contents

Early life and education

Flonzie Brown was born on August 12, 1942, in Farmhaven, Madison County, Mississippi, into an African American family, and was raised in Canton, Mississippi. [2] [8] Her maternal side of the family had grown-up educated and multi-cultural; and her paternal side of the family had been enslaved. [8] When she was age 12 in 1954, two of her cousins (age 15 and age 17) were visiting her in Canton from Chicago and they were brutally murdered and dismembered. [5] [9]

Brown-Wright attended Holy Child Jesus School, where she met her classmate Thea Bowman; and she attended Canton public schools. [3] [1] Brown-Wright attended Tougaloo College. [3]

Career

"Voting, the right to vote or not having the right to vote was the crux of not only the civil rights movement, but every movement. So we have an obligation, it's not optional. We're not here because somebody thought it was a nice idea. We're here because people paid the price for people to have opportunities. So we must validate what they did as we say back in the day and if we don't do that then we do not acknowledge nor appreciate that struggle."

Brown-Wright (2020) [10]

She married a childhood friend and they moved to California, and had three children, but by 1962 she divorced. [3] Brown-Wright was inspired to return her family to Mississippi after seeing the 1961 Freedom Rides on television. [8] She took a job as a waitress in Biloxi, which is where she met civil rights leaders and attorneys Jack H. Young, R. Jess Brown, and Carsie Hall. [3] [11]

After the murder of Medgar Evers in 1963, she became committed to work in the civil rights movement initially focused on voting rights. [3] She also became the Mississippi NAACP Field Secretary in 1963. [5] When Brown-Wright went to register to vote, her voting application was rejected for not knowing the term "habeas corpus"; so she took a month to study the United States constitution and was able to pass. [3] It was common during the 1960s for the Election Commissioner to ask random questions, in order to pass the voter registration test. [12]

During the civil rights movement in the 1960s, she helped register thousands of voters in the state of Mississippi. In 1968, she was elected as the Election Commissioner in Canton, where she was tasked with monitoring elections, training poll workers, supervising registrars, and holding educational workshops for voters. [13] She sued the Elections Board for discrimination against candidates and poll workers. [2]

In 1966, after the March Against Fear where James Meredith was shot, Martin Luther King Jr. brought three thousand protestors to Canton and asked for Brown-Wright's help with finding them accommodations. [2]

At a conference in Chicago, she met Mamie Till, the mother of lynching victim Emmett Till. [9] Between 1969 and 1973, Brown Wright served as vice president of the Institute of Politics at Millsaps College. [2] She worked for the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission from 1974 to 1989. [2] She also went on national tours to give lectures and workshops on voting rights, [9] [12] [14] and served as president of the non-profit organization Women for Progress in Mississippi. [15]

She published a memoir, Looking Back to Move Ahead: An Experience of History and Hope (1st ed. 1996). [16] Her life story was included in the documentary film, Standing on My Sisters' Shoulders (1997) by Laura J. Lipson. [17]

In 2018, she was honored by the United States House of Representatives. [18]

Publications

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Canton, Mississippi</span> City in Mississippi, United States

Canton is a city in Madison County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 13,189 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Madison County, and situated in the northern part of the metropolitan area surrounding the state capital, Jackson.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fielding L. Wright</span> American politician (1895–1956)

Fielding Lewis Wright was an American politician who served as the 19th lieutenant governor and 49th and 50th governor of Mississippi. During the 1948 presidential election he served as the vice presidential nominee of the States' Rights Democratic Party (Dixiecrats) alongside presidential nominee Strom Thurmond. During his political career he fought to maintain racial segregation, fought with President Harry S. Truman over civil rights legislation, and held other racist views.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Emmett Till</span> African American lynching victim (1941–1955)

Emmett Louis Till was an African American boy who was abducted, tortured, and lynched in Mississippi in 1955 at the age of 14, after being accused of offending a white woman, Carolyn Bryant, in her family's grocery store. The brutality of his murder and the acquittal of his killers drew attention to the long history of violent persecution of African Americans in the United States. Till posthumously became an icon of the civil rights movement.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dick Molpus</span> American politician

Richard Henderson Molpus Jr. is an American businessman and Democratic Party politician who served as Secretary of State of Mississippi from 1984 until 1996. He unsuccessfully ran for governor in 1995 against Republican incumbent Kirk Fordice. He later established a timberland management company. Throughout his public life he has pushed for reforms to support public education and promote racial reconciliation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fannie Lou Hamer</span> American civil rights activist (1917–1977)

Fannie Lou Hamer was an American voting and women's rights activist, community organizer, and a leader in the civil rights movement. She was the vice-chair of the Freedom Democratic Party, which she represented at the 1964 Democratic National Convention. Hamer also organized Mississippi's Freedom Summer along with the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). She was also a co-founder of the National Women's Political Caucus, an organization created to recruit, train, and support women of all races who wish to seek election to government office.

<i>The Clarion-Ledger</i> Newspaper in Jackson, Mississippi, US

The Clarion Ledger is an American daily newspaper in Jackson, Mississippi. It is the second-oldest company in the state of Mississippi, and is one of the few newspapers in the nation that continues to circulate statewide. It is an operating division of Gannett River States Publishing Corporation, owned by Gannett.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Myrlie Evers-Williams</span> American civil rights activist

Myrlie Louise Evers-Williams is an American civil rights activist and journalist who worked for over three decades to seek justice for the 1963 murder of her husband Medgar Evers, another civil rights activist. She also served as chairwoman of the NAACP, and published several books on topics related to civil rights and her husband's legacy. On January 21, 2013, she delivered the invocation at the second inauguration of Barack Obama.

Annie Bell Robinson Devine (1912–2000) was an American activist in the Civil Rights Movement.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Evelyn Gandy</span> American politician

Edythe Evelyn Gandy was an American attorney and politician who served as Lieutenant Governor of Mississippi from 1976 to 1980. A Democrat who held several public offices throughout her career, she was the first woman elected to a statewide constitutional office in Mississippi. Born in Hattiesburg, she attended the University of Mississippi School of Law as the only woman in her class. Following graduation, she took a job as a research assistant for United States Senator Theodore Bilbo. She briefly practiced law before being elected to the Mississippi House of Representatives, where she served from 1948 to 1952. Defeated for re-election, she worked as director of the Division of Legal Services in the State Department of Public Welfare and Assistant Attorney General of Mississippi until she was elected State Treasurer of Mississippi in 1959.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thea Bowman</span>

Thea Bowman, FSPA was a Black Catholic religious sister, teacher, musician, liturgist and scholar who made major contributions to the ministry of the Catholic Church toward African Americans.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Unita Blackwell</span> American civil rights activist (1933–2019)

Unita Zelma Blackwell was an American civil rights activist who was the first African-American woman to be elected mayor in the U.S. state of Mississippi. Blackwell was a project director for the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) and helped organize voter drives for African Americans across Mississippi. She was also a founder of the US–China Peoples Friendship Association, a group dedicated to promoting cultural exchange between the United States and China. She also served as an advisor to six US presidents: Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, and Bill Clinton.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cindy Hyde-Smith</span> American politician (born 1959)

Cindy Hyde-Smith is an American politician serving as the junior United States senator from Mississippi since 2018. A member of the Republican Party, she was previously the Mississippi Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce and a member of the Mississippi State Senate.

Colia L. Liddell Lafayette Clark was an American activist and politician. Clark was the Green Party's candidate for the United States Senate in New York in 2010 and 2012.

Farmhaven is an unincorporated community located in Madison County, Mississippi. Farmhaven is approximately 13 miles (21 km) east of Sharon and approximately 5 miles (8.0 km) west of Carthage on Pat Luckett Road situated between Mississippi Highway 16 and the Natchez Trace Parkway.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Raymond Jr.</span> American artist

George Raymond Jr. was an African-American civil rights activist, a member of the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party, a Freedom Rider, and head of the Congress of Racial Equality in Mississippi in the 1960s. Raymond influenced many of Mississippi's most known activists, such as Anne Moody, C. O. Chinn, and Annie Devine to join the movement and was influential in many of Mississippi's most notable Civil Rights activities such as a Woolworth's lunchcounter sit-in and protests in Jackson, Mississippi, Meredith Mississippi March, and Freedom Summer. Raymond fought for voting rights and equality for African Americans within society amongst other things.

Winifred A. Green was an American activist from Mississippi during the Civil Rights Movement. She spent her life leading grassroots movements impacting youth and education, and was a white advocate for integrated education beginning in 1960s Jackson, Mississippi, a time when few white Southerners were leaders in the Civil Rights Movement.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1960 United States presidential election in Mississippi</span> Election in Mississippi

The 1960 United States presidential election in Mississippi took place on November 8, 1960, as part of the 1960 United States presidential election. Voters chose eight representatives, or electors to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president. This was the last election in which Mississippi had eight electoral votes: the Great Migration caused the state to lose congressional districts for the third time in four censuses before the next election.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1981 Mississippi's 4th congressional district special election</span> Election for the 4th congressional district of Mississippi

A special election to determine the member of the United States House of Representatives for Mississippi's 4th congressional district was held on June 23, 1981, with a runoff held two weeks later on July 6. Democrat Wayne Dowdy defeated Republican Liles Williams in the runoff by 912 votes. Dowdy replaced Republican U.S. Representative Jon Hinson, who resigned from Congress following his arrest for engaging in sodomy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ceola Wallace</span> American seamstress and civil rights activist

Ceola Wallace was an American seamstress and civil rights activist from Mississippi. She was one of the African-American women who filed lawsuits in the women's poll tax repeal movement to eliminate the requirement to pay taxes before one could vote. She was active in the 1964 voter registration, Freedom Summer Project.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lovie Gore</span> American politician (1904–1980)

Lovie Landrum Gore was an American politician who served as a member of the Mississippi House of Representatives between 1952 and 1960. She was the Democratic national committeewoman for the state of Mississippi between 1956 and 1960. Gore was a vocal opponent of the civil rights movement, attempting to delay school integration in Mississippi and criticizing desegregation efforts from the national Democratic party.

References

  1. 1 2 Feister, Charlene Smith and John (2009). Thea's Song: The Life of Thea Bowman. Orbis Books. p. 33. ISBN   978-1-60833-045-4.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Flonzie Brown Wright's Biography". The HistoryMakers. December 13, 2017. Retrieved October 21, 2022.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Ownby, Ted; Wilson, Charles Reagan; Abadie, Ann J.; Lindsey, Odie; Jr, James G. Thomas (May 25, 2017). "Brown-Wright, Flozie (Goodloe) b. 1942, activist". The Mississippi Encyclopedia. Univ. Press of Mississippi. p. 147. ISBN   978-1-4968-1159-2.
  4. ↑ Mallegg, Kristin B. (2008). Who's Who Among African Americans. Gale / Cengage Learning. p. 161. ISBN   978-1-4144-0020-4.
  5. 1 2 3 Fowler, Sarah. "'We gave so much': Reflections on Mississippi Civil Rights Museum". The Clarion-Ledger. Retrieved October 21, 2022.
  6. ↑ "Black history: Activist Flonzie Brown-Wright". 13 WTHR NBC. February 1, 2021. Retrieved October 21, 2022.
  7. ↑ Johnson, Jada (February 11, 2020). "Flonzie Brown Wright provides perspective". The Washburn Review. Retrieved October 21, 2022.
  8. 1 2 3 Privett, Symphonie (February 6, 2019). "Women in Civil Rights: Flonzie Brown Wright". WLOX13 (Gray Media Group, Inc.). WLBT. Retrieved October 21, 2022.
  9. 1 2 3 Pickens, Erin (February 8, 2022). "'You can't carry hate. You can't carry anger. It will destroy you,' civil rights leader says". WAPT. Retrieved October 21, 2022.
  10. ↑ Hudson, Kion. "Civil and voting rights advocate Flonzie Brown Wright spoke at WU lecture series". WIBW. Retrieved October 21, 2022.
  11. ↑ "Brown, R. Jess, Carsie A. Hall, and Jack H. Young, Sr". Mississippi Encyclopedia. Retrieved October 21, 2022.
  12. 1 2 "For Many Black Voters, Trump's 'What Do You Have To Lose?' Plea Isn't Enough". NPR.org. Retrieved October 21, 2022.
  13. ↑ "Workshop Disruption in Madison is Charged". The Clarion-Ledger . Atlanta, Georgia. AP. October 15, 1971. p. 6. Retrieved October 21, 2022– via Newspapers.com.
  14. ↑ "Civil Rights Leader Slated to Speak in Columbus Tuesday". WCBI TV. February 24, 2015. Retrieved October 21, 2022.
  15. ↑ "Women for Progress". The Clarion-Ledger . November 7, 1985. p. 75. Retrieved October 21, 2022– via Newspapers.com.
  16. ↑ "Brown-Wright, Flonzie (Goodloe)". Mississippi Encyclopedia. Retrieved October 21, 2022.
  17. ↑ "'Standing On My Sisters' Shoulders' Civil Rights Documentary Will Be Presented Free By Pasadena Senior Center Online". Pasadena Now. August 17, 2020. Retrieved October 21, 2022.
  18. ↑ "Civil Rights Activist Flonzie Brown-Wright honored by House of Representatives". WJTV. March 28, 2018. Retrieved October 21, 2022.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.