Articles

Flonzie is featured on the cover of the Mississippi Link newspaper as one of four Civil Rights Icons, Prominent Figures In Women's History.

Mississippi Humanities Council

January 2, 2024

The Mississippi Freedom Trail to Add Seven New Historical Markers

The Mississippi Freedom Trail continues its mission to commemorate the pivotal moments, places, and courageous figures of the state’s civil rights movement by adding to its collection of historical landmarks and people.

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USA Today

May 31, 2022

You don’t know who is going to die next’: Civil rights era heroes are dying, leaving rich legacies

By Deborah Barfield Berry & Wenei Philimon

Berry and photographer Jasper Colt were in Mississippi – the heart of the civil rights movement – to work on USA TODAY's "Seven Days of 1961" civil rights project. Everywhere they went that week in July, veterans and historians mourned Moses’ death. Moses, a field secretary for the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, inspired activists and helped mobilize Black communities in Mississippi.

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Mississippi Catholic

September 12, 2021

Civil Rights Pioneer Explains Why Comment by Cindy Hyde-Smith is Offensive

By Joanna King

"New Group Media out of South Bend, Indiana is working to tell the story of Sister Thea Bowman. Filming is taking place in many locations where Sister Thea Bowman lived and worked, requiring in-depth work for both crew and community members.

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WLBT News

November 12th, 2018

Civil Rights Pioneer Explains Why Comment by Cindy Hyde-Smith is Offensive

By Maggie Wade

"Civil Rights activist Flonzie Brown Wright, who worked alongside Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and helped register black voters during the civil rights movement, spoke to WLBT on Monday to explain why Cindy Hyde-Smith should apologize for her comment and educate herself..." Read the full article here.

Jackson Free Press

April 5, 2018

Yes, Dr. King, How Can I Help You? Black Rights Leaders Recall MLK

By Arielle Dreher

"Flonzie Brown-Wright first met Martin Luther King Jr. over the phone. She lived in Canton and got a phone call from King himself three days before the participants in the March Against Fear in 1966 got to Canton on their march from Memphis..." Read the full article here.

Mississippi Public Broadcasting

March 19th, 2018

Now You're Talking With Marshall Ramsey: Flonzie Brown Wright, A Pioneer, Visionary and Steel Magnolia

"March is National Woman’s month and so each week we're featuring amazing Women of Mississippi and today we have the pleasure of speaking with an amazing women who has carved out a niche in Mississippi’s history. Flonzie Brown Wright was the first African American female elected official in Mississippi post-Reconstruction. We will speak with her about her life and her book, “Looking Back to Move Ahead” which chronicles her journey growing up in a small Mississippi town through her work in the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s and 1970s." Listen to the full audio here.

Jackson Advocate

March 1st-3rd, 2018

Highlights of the VMCRM 13th Anniversary Conference

By Cynthia Goodloe Palmer

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Christian Living

January 3rd, 2018

Flonzie Brown Wright—Pioneer, Visionary, and Steel Magnolia

By Marilyn Tinnin

"Flonzie Brown Goodloe Wright is a beautiful lady who looks much younger than her 75 years. Like most Southern women, she loves to tell you about her children, her upbringing, and her family tree. She is gracious, kind, and energetic. She entered the working world during a time there were few professions outside of school teaching where African-American women assumed leadership roles. You could say Mrs. Wright is one person who has the leadership gene inscribed in her DNA in all caps. When she won a race for Election Commissioner in Madison County in 1968, she was the first black woman elected to office in Mississippi since Reconstruction..." Read the full article here.

Mississippi State University

March 2nd, 2017

‘March Against Fear’ Participants Encourage MSU Students to Overcome Fear, Serve Others

Flonzie Brown-Wright of Canton was among community members who provided shelter and food to Martin Luther King Jr. and other “March Against Fear” participants. During a March 1 panel discussion at Mississippi State, Brown-Wright inspired students and others to never allow signs such as the one pictured to be raised again in public places or establishments. “It’s up to you now to decide how this next century is going to play out,” Brown-Wright said. “You have an opportunity, obligation and responsibility to do all that you can to carry on the legacy of those who have given so much.” Read the full article here.

FBI

April 28th, 2017

Jackson - Flonzie Brown-Wright

2016 Director’s Community Leadership Award Recipient

The Jackson Division honors Flonzie Brown-Wright for her more than 53 years of civil rights advocacy. At the request of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., she helped house and feed more than 3,000 civil rights marchers on the walk from Memphis to Jackson, and, in 1968, became the first African-American woman to hold public office in Mississippi since Reconstruction. During her tenure, Ms. Brown-Wright appointed and trained poll workers, implemented a jury selection system, and certified petitions for people to qualify for public office. Download article here.

Mississippi Today

November 4th, 2017

New Museum Chronicles Mississippi Movement that Changed the Nation

By Anna McCollum

"Marked by an influx of advocates and three abominable murders, the summer of 1964 goes down in Mississippi History as a turning point of the civil rights movement. The story of Freedom Summer, during which hundreds of white, college aged volunteers arrived in the state to work for voter registration, has been dramatized in movies and analyzed in books. And the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum, opening December 9th in Jackson, will further lock that momentous time into memories." Read the full article here.

Clarion Ledger

December 2nd, 2017

'We gave so much': Reflections on Mississippi Civil Rights Museum

By Sarah Fowler

"Flonzie Brown Wright of Canton was 12 years old when two of her cousins were brutally killed by a "truck full of white men." The cousins, ages 15 and 17, were visiting Thomastown for the summer and walking down a gravel road toward a store when the men pulled up and asked if they wanted a ride. Flonzie Brown Wright was on the front lines of the Civil Rights Movement in Mississippi. With the opening of the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum, Wright reflected on what the museum means to her." Read the full article here.

The Mississippi Link

February 25th, 2016

Canton Courtroom Honors Brown Wright

By Shanderia K. Posey

"Flonzie BrownWright, 73, a Mississippi civil rights icon who fearlessly worked to get blacks registered to vote in the 1960's, has been recognized numerous times for her work. She was the first African-American woman to be elected to public office in Mississippi since Reconstruction. But this Friday's event - the dedication of a Canton City Hall courtroom in her honor - may surpass previous recognition's." Read the full article here.

Mitzvah Corps

July 26th, 2016

Civil Rights Journey: Meeting Flonzie Brown Wright

"Today, our Civil Rights Journey participants had the opportunity to meet Flonzie Brown

Wright, an inspirational Civil Rights Movement figure and the first Black female elected

official in the state of Mississippi. Ms. Wright shared her story with us, connecting her experiences in the ‘60s with the current fight for civil rights and racial equality in our country. It was a true privilege to hear the first-hand narrative of such an important leader." Read the full article here.

The Mississippi Link

March 17th, 2018

A New Meaning of the Word - Grateful

By Flonzie Brown Wright

"On March 1, I was privileged to have the opportunity to speak at the Annual Black History Program for the Mississippi School for the Deaf. Even though I am always a bit anxious prior to actually speaking, this invitation was different – much different. I had never spoken to this group before. My anxiety level was higher and centered on the following: Will I say the right thing, will I be able to let the hearing impaired students and staff know that I am grateful to share that time with them, how will they receive me? As I thought about my grandfather, I experienced a multitude of emotions, and yes, even tears." Read the full article here.

Brown University

April 7th, 2016

With an Up-close View from Tougaloo College, Brown Students

Explore Civil Rights Era

Now in its sixth year, an annual spring break trip to the University’s

partner institution in Mississippi teaches much more than just history.

Read the full article here.

Sisters Shoulders

February 11th, 2015

Heroic Women in Civil Rights

When Flonzie (Goodloe) Brown-Wright tried to register to vote, she was asked to define “Habeas Corpus,” as part of the registration form only black Mississippians were expected to answer. Although she didn’t know what it meant at the time, she studied the Mississippi constitution and returned to successfully register to vote. She vowed that she would get the job of the man who denied her the right to vote. And she did. She became the first black woman to be elected County registrar. She is now an author and lecturer. She is featured in Standing On My Sisters’ Shoulders and wrote an autobiographical essay in Pieces from the Past. Download the article here.

The Mississippi Link

October 16th - 22nd, 2014

A Tribute to Sojourner Truth, “Ain’t I A Woman?”

‘Some Reasons for Rejoicing’, a theme at College Hill Missionary Baptist Church

pastoral celebration Women for Progress, Inc. presents October Lunch and Learning.

Read the full article here.

The Dallas Examiner

November 24th, 2014

John Doar, A Different Kind of Civil Rights Champion

"Though many Whites were active in civil rights, few were as influential as John Doar, the

legendary lawyer and civil rights champion, who died recently at the age of 92. “He was unique

in the Justice Department in that he would give you his home phone number,” says Julian Bond,

co-founder of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee and former board chairman of

the NAACP. “We were in constant danger of losing our lives. He understood that, and he did something about it in a way that no one else in the Justice Department did.” Read the full article here.

Miami Valley - 2014

2014 Miami Valley Person of the Year

Read the full article here.

Jackson Free Press

November 6th, 2012

Flonzie Brown Wright

By Ronni Mott

"It wasn't so very long ago that voting was a right that people fought

and died for. Native Mississippian Flonzie Brown-Wright remembers those days

clearly." Read the full article here.

The Sip Magazine

Freedom Summer

By Anna McCollum

"Marked by an influx of outsiders and three abominable murders, the summer of 1964 goes down in Mississippi history as a turning point of the civil rights movement. The story of Freedom Summer, during which hundreds of white, college-aged volunteers flooded the state to work on voter registration, has been dramatized in movies and analyzed in books. Now a museum opening in Jackson this bicentennial year will even further lock it into memories." Read the full article here.