Continuing a Legacy

As a child, Herman Wright spent his summers visiting his grandmother Arvetta Wright at the family’s ranch in Jasper County, Texas. At that time, he never dreamed the land would one day inspire him to say goodbye to a career as a sales and marketing executive and become a filmmaker and rancher instead.

One day, however, after exploring his family’s history for many years, he realized that this land was where his roots were. Part of a former “freedom colony” near Mount Union, the ranch has been in the family since it was deeded to his great-grandfather Benjamin Wright in 1874 following Emancipation. Although he had grown up far from the ranch, he recognized that he had been able to seize opportunities because of the sacrifices made by parents and grandparents in rural communities. He was successful because of a “long, black line.”

Wright also recognized that the same held true for other African-Americans. He decided it was a story that deserved to be told, so in 2002, he formed MC3, a multimedia educational and entertainment company, and began working on a documentary to tell the story. The project, a 43-minute film entitled “The Long Black Line: An American Story” was completed in 2005, and is now being reworked into a trilogy.

The completion of the film was overshadowed by the death of Wright’s father in January 2006, however. Suddenly, he became a more active participant in his own story as a ranch owner, as well as a filmmaker. Wright recognized that the land makes him a part of something bigger than himself, and gives him the opportunity to continue the legacy.

It helps that Wright has a lender with a long history that appreciates the heritage that he is striving to preserve. Like his father before him, Wright is a customer of Capital Farm Credit, which finances the family’s cattle and real estate. He considers it a great banking relationship, not just for today, but for the future.