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Black History Year

They Burned Down Her School – And Lit A Fire In Her Soul

Black History Year

PushBlack

History, Society & Culture

4.32.1K Ratings

🗓️ 6 September 2023

⏱️ 3 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

White terrorists had incinerated the young teacher’s school, and she’d been powerless to stop them. Physically, she was unwell, yet she vowed to seek revenge for her school, her students, and her work. How on earth did this sickly woman fight back? _____________ 2-Minute Black History is produced by PushBlack, the nation's largest non-profit Black media company. PushBlack exists to amplify the stories of Black history you didn't learn in school. You make PushBlack happen with your contributions at BlackHistoryYear.com — most people donate $10 a month, but every dollar makes a difference. If this episode moved you, share it with your people! Thanks for supporting the work. The production team for this podcast includes Cydney Smith, Len Webb, and Lilly Workneh. Our editors are Lance John and Avery Phillips from Gifted Sounds Network. Julian Walker serves as executive producer." To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0

White Terrace had incinerated the young teacher's school and she'd been powerless to stop them.

0:09.0

Physically, she was unwell, yet she vowed to seek revenge for her school, her students and her work.

0:15.0

How on earth did this sickly woman fight back?

0:19.0

This is Two Minute Black History, what you didn't learn in school.

0:30.0

Elizabeth Evelyn Wright was determined to teach, but she had a few challenges.

0:39.0

She'd fallen ill during her senior year of college and even when she finally did finish,

0:45.0

she still had problems completing her work.

0:48.0

But that was just the beginning.

0:51.0

As a young teacher in the rural south, she was constantly at odds with white terrorists who did not want to see

0:58.0

the local black community received any kind of education.

1:02.0

They constantly harassed her, but she had something way more powerful than her challenges in her corner.

1:09.0

Wright did not know the meaning of the word quit.

1:13.0

Her school was burned to the ground eight times and each time she walked over 20 miles to raise funds to rebuild it.

1:22.0

That's not even the best part of her story.

1:25.0

When she built back her school the ninth time, it flourished.

1:29.0

Before too long, she'd purchased 280 acres of land and kept growing her vision.

1:35.0

Voorhees College, as her institution was named, was nothing short of a miracle and it still exists today.

1:43.0

Wright's body may have been weak, but her resolve was indestructible.

1:49.0

A white supremacist environment is never going to be supportive of our fight for liberation.

1:55.0

We must continue our work, even through setbacks and white violence, and keep our eyes on our goal.

2:03.0

In order to move towards the future, you've got to look to the past.

2:07.0

This has been Two Minute Black History, a podcast by Push Black.

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