27 Facts About Jeremiah Wright

Jeremiah Wright was born and raised in the racially mixed area of Germantown, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Jeremiah Wright went on to be the first black person to teach at Germantown High and Girls High, where she became the school's first black vice principal.

Jeremiah Wright graduated from Central High School of Philadelphia in 1959, among the best schools in the area at the time.

From 1959 to 1961, Jeremiah Wright attended Virginia Union University, in Richmond and is a member of Omega Psi Phi fraternity, Zeta chapter.

In 1961 Jeremiah Wright left college and joined the United States Marine Corps and became part of the 2nd Marine Division attaining the rank of private first class.

In 1963, after two years of service, Jeremiah Wright joined the United States Navy and entered the Corpsman School at the Great Lakes Naval Training Center.

Jeremiah Wright was then trained as a cardiopulmonary technician at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland.

In 1967 Jeremiah Wright enrolled at Howard University in Washington, DC, where he earned a bachelor's degree in 1968 and a master's degree in English in 1969.

Jeremiah Wright earned a master's degree from the University of Chicago Divinity School.

Jeremiah Wright holds a Doctor of Ministry degree from the United Theological Seminary in Dayton, Ohio, where he studied under Samuel DeWitt Proctor, a mentor to Martin Luther King Jr.

Wright and his wife Ramah Reed Wright have four daughters, Janet Marie Moore, Jeri Lynne Wright, Nikol D Reed, and Jamila Nandi Wright, and one son, Nathan D Reed.

Jeremiah Wright became pastor of the Trinity United Church of Christ, Chicago on March 1,1971; it had some 250 members on its rolls, but only about 90 or so were actually attending worship by that time.

Trinity and Jeremiah Wright were profiled by correspondent Roger Wilkins in Sherry Jones's documentary Keeping the Faith broadcast as the June 16,1987, episode of the PBS series Frontline with Judy Woodruff.

In 1995, Jeremiah Wright was asked to deliver a prayer during an afternoon session of speeches at the Million Man March in Washington, DC.

Jeremiah Wright, who began the "Ministers in Training" program at Trinity United Church of Christ, has been a national leader in promoting theological education and the preparation of seminarians for the African-American church.

Jeremiah Wright has served on the Board of Trustees of Virginia Union University, Chicago Theological Seminary and City Colleges of Chicago.

Jeremiah Wright has served on the Board Directors of Evangelical Health Systems, the Black Theology Project, the Center for New Horizons and the Malcolm X School of Nursing, and on boards and committees of other religious and civic organizations.

Jeremiah Wright, who was Barack Obama's former pastor, gained national attention in March 2008 when ABC News, after reviewing dozens of Jeremiah Wright's sermons, excerpted parts which were subject to intense media scrutiny.

Obama denounced the statements in question, but after critics continued to press the issue of his relationship with Jeremiah Wright he gave a speech titled "A More Perfect Union", in which he denounced Jeremiah Wright's remarks, but did not disown him as a person.

Jeremiah Wright wrote on his Facebook page apologizing for his remarks on June 12,2009.

The notions of Jewish control of the White House in Reverend Jeremiah Wright's statement express classic anti-Semitism in its most vile form.

Jeremiah Wright retired as pastor from Trinity United Church of Christ in early 2008.

In September 2016, Jeremiah Wright suffered a stroke which paralyzed the left side of his body and left him confined to a wheelchair; despite the effect on his voice, Jeremiah Wright continues to give sermons on certain occasions.

Jeremiah Wright has received a Rockefeller Fellowship and seven honorary doctorate degrees, including from Colgate University, Lincoln University, Valparaiso University, United Theological Seminary, Chicago Theological Seminary, and Starr King School for the Ministry.

Jeremiah Wright was named one of Ebony magazine's top 15 preachers.

Jeremiah Wright was awarded the first Carver Medal by Simpson College in January 2008, to recognize Wright as "an outstanding individual whose life exemplifies the commitment and vision of the service of George Washington Carver".

Jeremiah Wright has written several books and is featured on Wynton Marsalis's album The Majesty of the Blues, where he recites a spoken word piece written by Stanley Crouch, and on the Odyssey Channel series Great Preachers.