Elizabeth Evelyn Wright

Pioneering educator Elizabeth Evelyn Wright was born in Talbotton, Georgia, and attended school here at St. Phillips African Methodist Episcopal Church, where many local African-American children received their education. Under the tutelage of President Booker T. Washington and his wife, Olivia, Wright graduated from Alabama's Tuskegee Institute in 1894 and moved to South Carolina to start a school inspired by Washington's model of industrial education for African Americans. Despite the support of wealthy and influential friends from across the country, Wright faced suspicion, racism, and multiple arson attacks in her efforts to found the school. In 1897 she successfully established the Denmark Industrial School, later named Voorhees Industrial School, in South Carolina. Wright died in 1906 and is buried on the campus, which became Voorhees College in 1962 when the school received accreditation.