Flonzie Brown Wright facts for kids

Flonzie Brown-Wright (also known as Flonzie Brown-Goodloe; born in 1942) is an American civil rights and voting rights activist, an educator, and an author. In 1968, she made history by becoming the first Black woman elected to a public office in Mississippi since the Reconstruction era. This happened when she was chosen as Election Commissioner in Canton. She also worked alongside important leaders like Martin Luther King Jr..

Early Life and Education

Flonzie Brown was born on August 12, 1942, in Farmhaven, Madison County, Mississippi. She grew up in Canton, Mississippi. Her family had different backgrounds; some members were educated, while others had been enslaved. When she was 12 years old, in 1954, a very sad event happened involving two of her cousins who were visiting her.

Flonzie Brown-Wright attended Holy Child Jesus School, where she met her classmate Thea Bowman. She also went to public schools in Canton. Later, she studied at Tougaloo College.

Fighting for Rights

Flonzie Brown-Wright married a childhood friend and they moved to California, where they had three children. She divorced in 1962. After seeing the 1961 Freedom Rides on television, she felt inspired to return to Mississippi with her family. She took a job as a waitress in Biloxi. There, she met important civil rights leaders and lawyers like Jack H. Young, R. Jess Brown, and Carsie Hall.

After the murder of Medgar Evers in 1963, Flonzie became deeply committed to the civil rights movement. She focused especially on voting rights. In 1963, she also became the Field Secretary for the NAACP in Mississippi. When she tried to register to vote, her application was rejected because she didn't know the term "habeas corpus". So, she spent a month studying the United States Constitution and was able to pass the test. Back then, election officials often asked difficult or random questions to make it hard for Black people to register to vote.

During the 1960s civil rights movement, Flonzie Brown-Wright helped thousands of people in Mississippi register to vote. In 1968, she was elected as the Election Commissioner in Canton. Her job involved watching over elections, training people who worked at polling places, supervising voter registrars, and holding workshops to teach voters about their rights. She even sued the Elections Board because they were treating candidates and poll workers unfairly.

In 1966, after the March Against Fear where James Meredith was shot, Martin Luther King Jr. brought three thousand protestors to Canton. He asked Flonzie Brown-Wright for her help in finding places for them to stay.

Later Work and Recognition

At a conference in Chicago, Flonzie Brown-Wright met Mamie Till, who was the mother of Emmett Till. Between 1969 and 1973, Flonzie Brown-Wright served as vice president of the Institute of Politics at Millsaps College. From 1974 to 1989, she worked for the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which helps prevent discrimination in workplaces. She also traveled around the country giving talks and workshops about voting rights. She was president of a non-profit group called Women for Progress in Mississippi.

Flonzie Brown-Wright wrote a book about her life called Looking Back to Move Ahead: An Experience of History and Hope, which was first published in 1996. Her life story was also featured in a documentary film called Standing on My Sisters' Shoulders in 1997, made by Laura J. Lipson.

In 2018, the United States House of Representatives honored her for her important work and contributions.