Zephyr Wright

Zephyr Wright was a civil rights activist and chef for Lyndon Johnson and Lady Bird Johnson from 1942 until 1969.[1]

Zephyr Wright
a photo of Wright, second from the right, at the Signing of the Voting Rights Act
Born1915 (1915)
Marshall, Texas
DiedApril 25, 1988
Washington DC
Alma materWiley College

Early life

Wright grew up in Marshall, Texas and attended Wiley College, where she studied Home Economics.[2][3] At Wiley, Wright took classes from Professor and activist Melvin B. Tolson, who inspired her to become engaged with the Civil Rights Movement.[2] In September 1942, After receiving a recommendation from Wiley College president Dr. Matthew Dogan, Lady Bird Johnson hired Wright as a cook for herself and then-representative Lyndon Johnson.[3] Wright accompanied Mrs. Johnson and another newly hired staff member, John Hickey, on their drive to Washington D.C. The three had difficulty finding restaurants and hotels throughout the trip since segregated establishments often refused to serve Wright and Hickey. Wright said about the journey in a 1974 interview that she was often asked to enter restaurants through the kitchen or eat outside, but always refused, stating "I felt that if I wasn't wanted, I wouldn't go. I felt happier not going."[2]

Racial discrimination

When Wright moved with the president's family to Washington, D.C., several hotels in the Southern United States refused to let her stay because she was black.[4] When Lyndon Johnson was senator, Wright refused to drive to Austin, Texas with him, telling him, "When Sammy and I drive to Texas and I have to go to the bathroom, like Lady Bird or the girls, I am not allowed to go to the bathroom. I have to find a bush and squat. When it comes time to eat, we can't go into restaurants. We have to eat out of a brown bag. And at night, Sammy sleeps in the front of the car with the steering wheel around his neck, while I sleep in the back. We are not going to do it again."[5]

Friendship with Johnson

President Johnson often asked Wright's opinion of his legislative actions and appointments. Wright recalled one instance in 1967:

One day he came home, and he said, "Oh, do you see that I have appointed the first Negro to the Supreme Court?" I said, "Oh! Has it gone through?" And he said, "Well, no, but I'm sure it will. I've appointed him." That was referring to his appointment [Thurgood] Marshall to the Supreme Court."[2]

Wright often relayed messages to President Johnson that she heard from people she encountered in her daily life, both of approval and disapproval of the Johnson administration. In one instance, Wright recalls approaching Johnson about the difference in salary between herself and another White House chef, to which Johnson responded by increasing the salaries of both Zephyr and her husband. Wright frequently cooked for guests of Johnson, including Speaker of the House Sam Rayburn. She spoke of serving food to longtime anti-civil rights senator Richard Russell Jr. and noted that she did not view his company as at all unpleasant.[2]

Wright and Johnson maintained a friendly relationship and often conversed in a casual manner. Wright named several instances in which her and Johnson traded lighthearted words and poked fun at each other's sleep schedules.[2]

Wright was outspokenly supportive of Johnson's work on civil rights, stating that, "In talking with him I know he is for all of the Negro people, and he has done more for them than anyone else". Her time with the Johnsons concluded in 1969, at the end of Lyndon's presidential term.[6]

When Johnson became Vice President of the United States, he sought Wright's opinion on matters such as the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.[4] She was later a witness to his signing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and at the signing ceremony, he gave her the pen he had used to sign the act, saying, "You deserve this more than anyone else."[1]

References

[7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [3] [2] [15][16]

  1. David Shreve (2007-10-30). Lyndon B. Johnson: Towards the Great Society, February 1, 1964 - May 31, 1964. Norton. pp. 280–. ISBN 978-0-393-06286-1.
  2. "Oral history transcript, Zephyr Wright, interview 1 (I), 12/5/1974, by Michael L. Gillette · Discover Production". discoverlbj.org. Retrieved 2020-03-01.
  3. Beil, Gail K. "Four Marshallites' Roles in the Passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964." The Southwestern Historical Quarterly 106, no. 1 (2002): 1-29. Accessed February 24, 2020. www.jstor.org/stable/30242135.
  4. Chabbott, Sophia (2015-03-19). "The Residence: Meet the Women Behind Presidential Families Kennedy, Johnson, Carter". Glamour.com. Retrieved 2015-05-02.
  5. "Recipes from the President's Kitchen". NPR. 2008-02-19. Retrieved 2015-05-02.
  6. Kiera Wright-Ruiz (2019-02-28). "6 Black Chefs (and 1 Inventor) Who Changed the History of Food - The New York Times". Nytimes.com. Retrieved 2020-01-03.
  7. The Residence: Inside the Private World of the White House by Kate Andersen Brower (2015).
  8. The Wind at His Back: LBJ, Zephyr Wright, and Civil Rights by Lee White (2003).Thomas W. Cowger; Sherwin Markman (2003). Lyndon Johnson Remembered: An Intimate Portrait of a Presidency. Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 139–. ISBN 978-0-7425-2798-0.
  9. Lyndon Johnson Remembered: An Intimate Portrait of a Presidency by Rowman & Littlefield, 139–48, (2003)
  10. Miller, Adrian. “100 Greatest Home Cooks of All Time: Zephyr Wright.” Epicurious. Accessed April 20, 2020. https://www.epicurious.com/expert-advice/zephyr-wright-white-house-cook-article.
  11. "Recipes from the President's Kitchen"12:01 AM ET (2008-02-19). "Recipes from the President's Kitchen". NPR. Retrieved 2020-01-03.
  12. "When the President and His Chef Feuded Over Cold Beans""When the President and His Chef Feuded over Cold Beans". 2018-11-29.
  13. "6 Black Chefs (and 1 Inventor) Who Changed the History of Food" Kiera Wright-Ruiz (2019-02-28). "6 Black Chefs (and 1 Inventor) Who Changed the History of Food - The New York Times". Nytimes.com. Retrieved 2020-01-03.
  14. "White House Cook Praised for Her Concern for the President". Johnson Publishing Company. 1966-06-09.
  15. "Black Chef, White House: African American Cooks in the President's Kitchen," episode 44 of the Kitchen Sisters podcast, a production of Radiotopia on PRX."Black Chef, White House: African American Cooks in the President's Kitchen". The Kitchen Sisters. 2016-04-12. Retrieved 2020-01-03.
  16. Smith, J. Y. “BURNITA S. MATTHEWS DIES.” Washington Post, April 27, 1988. https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/1988/04/27/burnita-s-matthews-dies/0651341f-ddd7-42b6-be16-36f6a900183c/.

Further reading
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