The sole daughter of the late Mr. and Mrs. Frank and Littie Brown, Sr., she and her brothers, the late Sydney and Frank Jr., grew up and attended school in Canton and Farmhaven, traveling into Jackson to see relatives, shop, and dine. As with most Southern cities in the 1960s, the family would experience segregation during their visits, inspiring a young Flonzie to dream bigger not only for herself but for others who strongly felt the implications of racism.

"I remember singing the song, 'This Little Light of Mine,' during times of terrible opposition," Wright said. "We knew that we were in a very dark place, but we also knew that based on our ancestors and the things our people had taught us, we had to be the light on the hill, the shining light to bring people to freedom."

Wright would become a heroine of the Civil Rights Movement during the 1960s and 1970s. She is a Fain Fellowship recipient and student of Tougaloo College, which spurned her later recognition as a cofounder of the Institute of Politics at Millsaps College. In her professional career, she aided thousands of Mississippi voters in registering and worked with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and numerous other humanitarian activists, both locally and nationally.

One of her crowning achievements was becoming the first African American female elected to public office in a bi-racial Mississippi town post-Reconstruction. During her tenure as Election Commissioner of Canton, she corrected many voting rights inequities she had experienced in her hometown and throughout the state.

"What inspired me to do my duty [in the Civil Rights Movement] was that I felt that it was my obligation and responsibility to try and make things better for future generations," Wright said. "I've now had the opportunity to lecture and talk with students and scholars worldwide, particularly with young people. I'm asked that question very often—about what inspires me—and I simply say to them, 'I knew you were coming.'"

Wright has authored a best-selling memoir, Looking Back to Move Ahead, chronicling her life experiences and highlighting unsung heroes of Mississippi civil rights. Her story is documented in the 1997 award-winning film Standing on My Sisters' Shoulders, featuring other influential female activists, including Annie Devine, Unita Blackwell, and Joan Trumpauer Mulholland. Wright has received over 400 national, state, church, and community service awards, including the National FBI Citizens Award, and continues to provide mentorship and assistance to learning environments as a motivational speaker and through the Flonzie B. Wright Scholarship Foundation.

"It's not about the fame, it's not about the fortune, and it's sure not about the money," Wright said. "It's about when I lay back at night and close my eyes before going to sleep—and when my earthly time is over—can I look back, or somebody else look back, and say because of Flonzie, I am now here because of her dedication."