Dr. John A. Wright spent a lifetime making sure Black St. Louis history would not be forgotten. He died Monday, Nov. 9, of pancreatic cancer, just two weeks after receiving the diagnosis, according to his family. He was 87.
His books chronicled communities that no longer exist in the same form, while his work in education helped create opportunities for thousands of students.
Wright, a native son of The Ville, built a career that spanned classrooms, central offices, boardrooms and archives. He became one of the region’s foremost historians of Black life in St. Louis…