Wright, Zephyr, 1915-1988

"When Johnson became Vice President of the United States, he sought Wright's opinion on matters such as the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. She was later a witness to his signing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and at the signing ceremony, he gave her the pen he had used to sign the act, saying, 'You deserve this more than anyone else'."

"She [Zephyr Wright] was born March 21, 1915, in Marshall; raised by her grandparents, Marie and Tom McKenzie...

Speaker of the House Sam Rayburn called her 'the best southern cook this side of Heaven'."

"Zephyr B. Wright, 73, former White House cook during the presidency of Lyndon B. Johnson, died April 25 at George Washington University Hospital. She had heart ailments.

Mrs. Wright, a native of Marshall, Tex., came to Washington in 1942 to work as a cook for the Johnson family when Johnson was serving in the House of Representatives. When Johnson became president in November of 1963 after the assassination of John F. Kennedy, Mrs. Wright went to the White House as Johnson's personal cook.

She retired in 1969 when Johnson left office and she had lived in Washington since then."

Zephyr Black born about 1915 living with mother Mary Stephens

Wright: "You know yourself how difficult it was during those years for colored people to go into a white restaurant and sit down and eat. That was just almonst an impossibility, and of course we didn't even try it. We hadn't gotten to that point where we--well, I was just not that type, anyway. I flet that if I wasn't wanted, I wouldn't go. I felt happier not going."

Gillette: "Do you think that this firsthand exposure to discriminiation helped shape Mrs. Johnson's and President Johnson's opinions on civil rights?"

Wright: "I do, because I wouldn't go to Texas for ten years; I just wouldn't go...And I know that from the things that I had told him earlier about our trips from Texas, he remembred it."

"Zephyr Wright drew in crowds with her comfort food. But the one person who may have benefited the most was Lyndon B. Johnson...

When Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Wright was there. After he finished, he gave her a pen he used and said, 'You deserve this more than anybody else'."

"It was also Sammy and Zephyr Wright's 10th wedding anniversary--VP toasted them."