Lydia T. Wright

Wright was the first Black woman pediatrician in Buffalo, New York, where she practiced from 1952 to 1988.^[6] She taught in the medical school of the University at Buffalo and was on the staff of several hospitals.^[4][7] She was appointed to the board of directors of the Planned Parenthood Center of Buffalo in 1958.^[8] In 1959 she was elected a fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics,^[9] and hosted a meeting of the Women Physicians League in her home.^[10]

Wright was also the first Black member of the Buffalo Board of Education.^[1] She was appointed in 1962 and worked to desegregate the city's schools,^[11][12] and to establish more effective disciplinary policies.^[13] Her term on the board expired in 1967.^[14][15]

Wright spoke to an audience of Eastern Star members in 1963, saying "We no longer want just civil rights; we want and deserve full recognition of the dignity of the individual."^[16] She received the Education Award from the NAACP in 1964,^[6] the William G. Conable Award in 1967,^[17] a Brotherhood Week Award in 1968,^[18] and the NAACP's Medgar Evers Award in 1988.^[6][19] In 2002 the Buffalo Urban League presented Wright and her husband with their Family Life Award, for their professional and civic contributions.^[20] She served on the board of the East Side Community Organization (ESCO) and was active in Episcopal Church work.^[2][6]

Wright married fellow physician Frank G. Evans in 1951.^[6] They had two children. She died in 2006, at the age of 84.^[2][21] The Lydia T. Wright School for Excellence in Buffalo was named for her in 2000.^[14][22] Her papers are in the collection of the University at Buffalo Libraries.^[4] She is one of the 28 civil rights figures depicted on Buffalo's Freedom Wall, at the Buffalo AKG Art Museum.^[23][24]