Ledonia Smith Wright

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Ledonia Wright was born on January 5, 1930, in Rockingham, Richmond County, North Carolina. After graduating from Rockingham High School, she attended Shaw University in Raleigh, graduating in 1949 with a degree in chemistry and education. Wright then attended North Carolina Central University (then North Carolina College) where she earned her Master of Science in Public Health in 1951. That same year, she accepted a position with the Guilford County, NC Health Department, where she was responsible for establishing health education programs for the area’s minority populations.

In 1953, Wright moved to Buffalo, New York to work for the Roswell Park Memorial Institute where she conducted experiments in Ketosteroid therapy and other general bio-chemistry research. In 1954, she was promoted to the cancer research division, applying bio-statistical data to create a diagnostic medical index. In 1955, Wright accepted a position with the Erie County, NY Health Department as the Assistant Director of Health Education. During her time there, she helped establish the Epilepsy Association for Western New York and oversaw public health educational programs.

In 1956, Wright again moved, this time to Boston, Massachusetts, to become the Chief Admitting Officer for the Tufts University School of Medicine. The following year, she became an instructor in the Department of Preventative Medicine at Tufts where she managed the Home Care Service program. This program utilized the skills of fourth-year medical students to provide home care for indigent patients. From 1960-1974, Wright worked for multiple private and public entities in the Boston area, all involving community health improvement, particularly for low-income populations.

In 1974, Wright returned to her native North Carolina. Accepting an offer extended by East Carolina University’s Dean of the School of Allied Health and Social Professions, Dr. Ronald Thiele, Wright became a teaching faculty member in the School of Allied Health’s Department of Community Health. Her primary role was to teach and develop community health courses for graduate and undergraduate students, while also serving as a technical advisor to the larger Division of Health Affairs. Most importantly to Wright, she enjoyed the opportunity to “develop special training and seek financial support for disadvantaged students.”

Wright focused much of her energy on developing opportunities for success in higher education for minority and underprivileged students. She organized Health Career Days in Elizabeth City and Kinston, was active in the North Carolina Society for Public Health Education, and embarked on a seventeen venue tour of historically black colleges to promote community health in 1975. On campus, Wright assisted with the organization of the Society of United Liberal Students (S.O.U.L.S.), and served as the group’s first faculty advisor. SOULS sponsored the first Black History Week on campus and led the initiative to establish the Afro-American Cultural Center in the building known as the “Y Hut.”

Concerned over her feverish pace, Dr. Thiele and her department chairperson, Donald R. Dancy, recommended that Wright seek rest to improve her health. Never one to remain idle, Wright nonetheless pressed forward with her plans to embark on a recruitment tour during the summer of 1976. In June 1976, the campus was saddened to learn of the tragic death of Ledonia Wright. She was survived by two sons, Michael and Steven, and a brother and sister. Her funeral was held in her hometown of Rockingham at the Holly Grove Baptist Church. To honor her contributions to East Carolina, the Afro-American Cultural Center was rededicated as the Ledonia S. Wright Afro-American Cultural Center. It was later renamed as the Ledonia Wright Multi-Cultural Center and is currently housed in the Bloxton House, just off the campus mall.

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