Austin native Anthony Ray Wright Jr., an education advocate, has been named a 2024 recipient of the prestigious John Lewis Youth Leadership Award.
Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias presented Wright with the award at a ceremony earlier this month. Bellwood native Ivoryana Neal was also named a recipient and honored alongside Wright.
“It’s wonderful to honor the impact of the late Congressman Lewis by recognizing two incredible young Illinoisans for their significant service to our communities,” Giannoulias said.
Established by the National Association of Secretaries of State in 2021, the award celebrates the efforts of young people between the ages of 18 to 25 who have made exceptional civic contributions to their communities. Recipients must possess a record of service and leadership that meets the ethos of the Lewis legacy.
“I’m really grateful to receive this award,” Wright, who is 23, said. “Although I’ve been doing this work for a while, I’ve never sought to get any type of award or validation from it, so it was surprising. It gives me more of a drive to keep going.”
A 2024 graduate of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Wright currently works as a post-secondary advisor at Introspect Youth Services, a nonprofit on Chicago’s West Side. Introspect’s mission is to provide activities, programs and services to youth to enhance their development, broaden their horizons and increase their confidence in their ability to succeed.
Wright has worked at Introspect since 2022, when he started as an intern. During his time at the organization, Wright has helped re-envision a Black History curriculum that engages teens. This has included conducting workshops on both the Great Migration and the Harlem Renaissance.
For his workshop on the Great Migration, Wright had students interview their grandparents.
“I was able to help students see that they have a connection to Black History through the Great Migration by having them identify migration patterns,” Wright said. “Say for instance, you have a grandmother that came from Mississippi to Chicago – that’s one migration pattern in the Great Migration.”
Wright has already self-published two novels focused on Black History: “Don’t Salvage the Bridge” and “In Search of the Promise Land.” Both books, which he wrote during his time as a high school student at UIC College Prep, are available on Amazon. Wright is currently working on his third book, a collection of short stories.
While growing up in Austin, Wright decided to become a writer after reading the novel “Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry” as a seventh grader.
“That’s when it started,” he said. “I was like, ‘I’m going to write a historical fiction novel about black people.’”
As a high schooler, Wright launched a YouTube channel where he would talk about significant moments in Black History.
“As I got older, I realized that a lot of the information I was learning about Black History was on my own,” he said. “That’s when I realized it should be talked about more and be more accessible for people.”
In addition to making Black History more accessible through his work at Introspect, Wright is dedicated to boosting voter registration among Chicago’s youth. During 2024, he served as a voting deputy registrar, helping many young Chicagoans register to vote, study the issues and cast their first ballots.
“Our ancestors fought for this right to vote, and I feel like you have to exercise that right in honor of them,” Wright said. “I also want people to know that they have power with their vote.”
Secretary Giannoulias plans to accept nominations for the third annual Illinois John Lewis Youth Leadership Award in Fall 2025.