Reverend Thomas Alexander Wright Sr. (March 26, 1920 – December 9, 2014) was a civil rights leader and former president of the Gainesville, Florida chapter of the NAACP in the early 1960s.
[5] During his lifetime, Wright frequently mentioned a moment from his childhood that instilled in him values that he carried on later in his religious practice and civil rights work.
This would be his involvement in an oratorical contest in West Palm Beach, that he was specifically chosen to participate in by Ozzie Youngblood despite his invalid status as a student of the school.
"[5] In his autobiography, Courage in Persona, he describes the limitations imposed on African Americans and their education in Florida in his early years of life which prevented them from excelling past elementary school.
In 1940, when Wright was 20 years old and Clayton was 18, the two decided to travel to Fort Lauderdale, Florida together to try and wed.[2] However, after being turned away due to being underage, they continued to Miami where they would then lie about their age, claiming they were both 21, and follow through with the marriage.
[2] During his time at the Howard University School of Divinity, Thomas A. Wright Sr. did field work relating to his religious studies in Baltimore, Maryland.
[2] His field work consisted of him preaching once a month on Sundays at Enon Baptist Church over the course of two years with the title of assistant pastor.
In his autobiography, Wright mentions how him and his peers, often in integrated groups, would frequently “test restaurants” by going into them and determining whether or not they would be kicked out or have the police called on them.
Though there was no established NAACP at this time, Wright would be involved in the less formal, “Saint Augustine Improvement Association which cooperated with civil rights activities,” as well as the African American Recreation Committee.
[5] While Wright organized many sit-ins and other types of protests during this time,[5] St. Augustine would prove to be a dangerous site for civil rights efforts.
[9][5] He became involved with the integrated Gainesville Women for Equal Rights organization that was a counterpart to the NAACP,[2] as well as the Eastside Student Assistant Association.
[2] While conducting his work in civil rights, Wright continued to preach at Mount Carmel Baptist Church and remained in its original edifice, built in the 1940s, for about twenty-four years.
[5] Thomas A. Wright Sr. is cited having said he believed economic competency in black leadership was a necessary trait to continue pursuing civil rights.