"Won't be weighted down:" Richard R. Wright, Jr.'s contributions to social work and social welfare

Journal of Sociology and Social Welfare, June, 2004 by Kevin F. Modesto

Faith

As crucial as family and education were in shaping Richard R. Wright, Jr., his faith and religious convictions provided his core values and the vehicles for him to work for progress and social change. Wright was raised in his mother's denomination, the African Methodist Episcopal Church or AME. The AME church emerged out of the Free African Society founded in Philadelphia on April 12, 1787 by Richard Allen, Absalom Jones and several other Freedmen who were barred from prayer at St. George's Methodist Church (Williams, 1972). From that point, the AME Church became the primary institution of self-help and leadership development in the African American community. The mission of the church demonstrates its commitment to uplift, which states, "God our Father, Christ our Redeemer, Man our Brother (Wright, 1963)." These are the values that were instilled in Richard from his childhood.

In his autobiography, 87 Years Behind the Black Curtain, Wright (1965) recounts the story of his conversion, which was an arduous process. For years, Richard had struggled with the emotionalism of African American Christianity. His parents did not act in such a manner, but they had clear commitments in their faith. Each year during revival, young Richard would go to the "mourner's bench" and pray but never to the emotional conclusion that those around him were experiencing. The emotional response to revivals in his community were such that if a person were converted, he or she did not have to attend work the next day, and most people spent their time telling people about their experience. Since this was not consistent with his experience, Richard came to question his faith even though he believed in all the tenets of Christianity. However, during the revival of 1892, which Wright (1965) calls the "greatest revival in the history of Augusta, GA," Richard was converted. Unlike the other new converts, Richard went to school the day following the revival. The principal commended Richard on his commitment and lifted him as a true example of Christianity. Richard's father was also proud that his son's actions demonstrated his faith in a fuller manner than mere words, stressing the importance of living a life consistent with Christianity, not just talking Christian talk. This experience provided Richard with a clear example of ethical religion that he would take with him for life.

Richard's faith led him to the study of religion and a call into the ministry, where he would rise to the position of Bishop in the AME Church. He viewed the church as a vehicle to offer hope to his people and to develop leadership for future generations. Wright (1965) states, "I have devoted myself to the Christian ministry, as I was early convinced that building the spirit of people is the most important thing." In addition to traditional religious activities that built up people's spirits, Wright used his position of pastor to organize other churches to improve their community and provide opportunities for education and uplift, including holding lecture series and exposing the community to the arts and letters (Banner-Hally, 1993).