The Wright Family has had an extraordinary history, from slavery through the present-day. When five cousins discovered that their common ancestor was a free black man during slavery, they decided to convert the building that formerly housed the family funeral home into a museum to preserve that family history (circa 1999). One year later, one of the cousins authored a play about the family that premiered to critical acclaim in Washington, DC. (See, accompanying public relations materials.) In February 2001, another cousin was selected to serve on the York County (SC) Cultural and Heritage Foundation because of its interest in the Wright Family. Now, therefore, the cousins have decided to formally pursue its cultural and genealogical legacy by the formation of this non-profit organization and application for tax-exempt status.
ALICE WRIGHT SMITH HISTORICAL MUSEUM
Create cultural media for public consumption – In the long term, we hope to develop film version/s of original works of art, which will be archived and available to the public in the Alice Wright Smith Historical Museum. (See newspaper clipping).
RESEARCH & PUBLISHING
Conduct research and publish writings related thereto – We plan to update the book, “Blackways of Kent”, a sociological study that was written about our town and family to support the United States Supreme Court decision in Brown vs. the Board. This book is often featured in the summer festival that is annually held in the City of York, South Carolina.
RESTORATION
Restore historical sites – Together with the York County Museum and local Boy Scouts of America troops, we will inventory and clean area African-American cemeteries. This will also lead to re-claiming much of the history of the County.
ESTABLISH TEMPLATES FOR RECORDING THE HISTORIES OF AFRICAN AMERICANS
Generate publicity encouraging the formation of family foundations as a means of recording the history of African-Americans – We are interested in replicating our efforts in other families who wish to re-capture their history and plan to provide technical assistance without charge to interested persons.
PARTNERSHIP & PRESERVATION
Liaise with the York County Cultural Heritage Foundation to develop expertise in historical preservation – Discussions are currently underway regarding ways to assist the York County Cultural and Heritage Commission to reach the African American community within its jurisdiction.
The recipient of the 2nd annual Ruth Wright Johnson Award went to Ms. Mahogany Setzer a senior at the York Comprehensive High School. Mahogany excelled not only in academics with a 3.5 GPA but in athletics as well where she starred as a basketball, soccer and softball talent. This fall she will be attending Pfeiffer […]
BY ANDREW DYS adys@heraldonline.com Ruth Johnson, an English teacher and activist for racial equality in western York County for decades, and mother of award-winning writer/director Charles Randolph-Wright, died Thursday. She was 85. Johnson taught for years at the segregated Jefferson School in York, then at York Comprehensive High School after schools were integrated. During all […]
By Andrew Dys, columnist – adys@heraldonline.com Longtime York funeral home owner Isaac “Ike” Wright died early Monday morning after a long battle with cancer. He was 65. Wright has run Wright Funeral Home, now in its 100th year, as his family’s business and the city’s oldest black-owned company. He was far more than a businessman, […]