L.A. attorney Crispus Attucks Wright gives USC Law School $2 million

Jet, August 11, 1997

Crispus (Cris) Attucks Wright, a retired Los Angeles civil attorney, recently donated $2 million to the University of Southern California Law School to establish the Wright Scholarship Endowment. The gift is the largest ever made by a Black person to the university.

The Wright Scholarship Endowment will provide financial support for academically qualified and financially deserving Black students and students of other ethnicities who have an interest in practicing law in underrepresented communities.

Williams, who was named after the notable Black man Crispus Attucks, the first casualty of the American Revolution, received two degrees from USC. An older brother and sister also attended USC, as did Wright's son.

"I feel a deep obligation to the USC Law School," he said. "The professors--as well as many of my classmates--brought out the best in me and made me work at my optimum level. I am both proud and glad that my contribution will help make the Law School more accessible to talented students."

USC President Steven B. Sample said, "Cris Wright's gift is a remarkable contribution to the Law School and, indeed, to the entire university. His is an inspired and inspiring act of philanthropy that honors one of America's great law schools. Mr. Wright's gift is an incomparable affirmation of the cultural diversity that defines USC."

In addition to being the largest gift by a Black person to USC, Wright's donation is the second-largest contribution made by a Black person to a law school in the United States.

Wright established a civil law practice in South Central Los Angeles in 1940. He closed his office in 1987 after 50 years in the legal profession.