Zephyr Wright

Early life and education Wright grew up in Marshall, Texas. At Wiley, Wright took classes from professor and activist Melvin B. Tolson, who inspired her to become engaged with the civil rights movement. 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."

During Johnson's presidency, Wright credits many of the racially charged experiences she and her husband experienced to describe the Johnson families' energy towards improving the rights and experiences of Black Americans.

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.

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. Wright returned to cooking specifically for the Johnson family, and the role of White House Executive Chef was given to Henry Haller. Around 1966, Wright taught Luci Baines Johnson how to cook. In December 1963, Lady Bird Johnson said in an interview with Time magazine: "Zephyr is an expert at spoon bread, homemade ice cream and monumental Sunday breakfasts of deer sausage, home-cured bacon, popovers, grits, scrambled eggs, homemade peach preserves and coffee." Unfortunately, during her lifetime, Zephyr was not as well credited for her impactful civil rights work and her contributions to the Civil Rights Act of 1964 as she was for her cooking. Wright was named by The New York Times in 2019 as one of the "6 Black Chefs Who Changed the History of Food".