Waymon Wright

Waymon S. Wright, a tireless fighter of racism, a committed believer in the power of love, and a man of unwavering Christian faith, died surrounded by his family on March 20, 2025.

Born in Denmark, SC on October 7, 1939, Waymon grew up in a family of strong commitment. His father helped found the county NAACP and his mother was fired from her job for helping register voters. The KKK marched every Friday night in town, with Molotov cocktails regularly thrown at the family's home. With no public schools for Black children, Waymon attended the Voorhees School, started in the late 19th century by local African Americans and by the 1920s was affiliated with the Episcopal church. Dr. Benjamin Mays, then president of Morehouse College, heard Waymon's salutatorian speech and encouraged him to apply to Morehouse, securing him a scholarship. 

Waymon graduated in 1961, a proud member of Alpha Phi Alpha, the oldest of the Divine Nine Greek organizations. Waymon was an early African-American member of the Young Georgia Democrats and took great delight in telling how Governor Lester Maddox, using racist language, refused to sit on stage with him. 

Waymon worked in a variety of public relations, journalism, business, and government positions. He started his own public relations firm in Atlanta, worked for Coca-Cola, the Atlanta Falcons, Florida A&M, and the Columbia Record. One of his proudest writing accomplishments was a Sunday magazine article for the Atlanta Journal explaining Tommie Smith and John Carlos' Black Power protest salute at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics.

Waymon moved to Washington, DC in the 1970s, working for the National Business League and the Congressional Black Caucus. He wrote speeches for Ohio Congressman Louis Stokes and served in the Nixon administration on the White House Commission on Wages and Prices. The last decades of his life, Waymon lived Frederick. He married and raised a family and worked as a driving instructor. 

He became active in the Episcopal Diocese and was a member of the Union of Black Episcopalians.Waymon is lovingly remembered by his brother, Gerald Wright of Denmark, SC, and his wife, April Diggs, and their children, Christopher, Nicholas, and Brittany. He is also lovingly remembered by his church family. A three-time vestry member, it was impossible to attend All Saints and not be generously and genuinely welcomed by Waymon Wright. 

A Celebration of Life will be held at All Saints Episcopal Church, Frederick, at 2pm on Saturday, May 10, 2025.

Waymon lived by the words of John Lewis about making "good trouble;" and Jesus, who said "You shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free." John 8:32 We honor Waymon when we continue the work. Waymon Wright.