This week’s Spotlight is on Anna Stevens Bright, a native of Walterboro. Her parents were the late Deacon Kalip Stevens and Reverend Dr. Evelyn Gelzer Stevens. Bright explains, “My maternal grandmother, the late Mrs. Lela Florence Daniels Gelzer, actually raised me. My parents had to move to Florida and then New York to seek better employment, in order to provide for my sisters and me. Colleton County, at that time, wasn’t the very best place for African Americans, when it came to satisfactory employment. My parents moved back south when I was 14 years old, and then I lived with them and my sisters permanently. I still continued to spend time with my maternal grandmother. She taught me a lot, especially about the church, and actually gave me the encouragement and the background I needed for writing.” Her paternal grandparents were Mr. Kelly and Mrs. Sally Robinson Stevens of Hendersonville, South Carolina.
“I have two siblings. My middle sister is Dianna Stevens McNeil, and she is employed with the Colleton County School District and has been there for quite some time. She works in transportation as a bus driver, and she loves it! My youngest sister, Janifer Stevens, passed away in June 2007. She was only 45 years old, and that was very heartbreaking to the family. She left behind two very young sons who are adults now. They are Kalip Nathan Stevens, whom we call ‘Nate,’ and the youngest is Denzel Andre Stevens. They both graduated from Walterboro High School.” Bright’s parents built and founded Friendship Liberty Baptist Church on Keegan Drive, where her mother licensed her into the ministry. Her nephew, Reverend Keith G. Stevens, is currently the Pastor.
Bright attended Colleton High School in the 9th and 10th grades, during the time of the court ordered mandate to integrate the schools. She attended Walterboro High School in the 11th and 12th grades and is a 1973 graduate. Bright has fond memories of the high school. “I just adored my teachers, and loved this place and the people with whom I grew up. I was an honor graduate, and one thing that really touched me is that I was among the 10 outstanding high school seniors, all selected by the faculty. I sang in the chorus under the direction of the late Mrs. Dorothy Buckner. She was an outstanding choral director and made you want to sing. I sang soprano, and Mrs. Buckner helped me to get over my fears as a soloist. I auditioned for the 1972 South Carolina All state Chorus, and I made it! There were five other students who auditioned and were selected from our school for this prestigious honor that year: Cathy Crosby, Joy Collins, Anna Smith, Joyce Canaday, and Jennifer Peters.“
After high school Bright continued her education at Claflin University in Orangeburg, South Carolina. She says, “It was Claflin College then, but it was later changed to Claflin University. I majored in English and minored in Education, graduating magna cum laude in 1977. I pledged Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., following in the footsteps of my aunt, Mrs. Estelle Juanita Gelzer Gerald. However, she taught mathematics, which was never my forte!”
During her senior year at Claflin, Electronic Data Systems (EDS) which was located in Dallas, Texas, a company owned by the late presidential candidate, H. Ross Perot, recruited her for employment. Mr. Perot wanted to hire 600 systems engineer trainees at the time. Bright explains, “I told the recruiter, I majored in English and went to school to be a teacher. I don’t know anything about computers. The recruiter went on to say, “Even if you were a computer science major, you still would have to learn ‘Ross’s way.’ So I gave it some consideration.”
“They sent me to Atlanta for the second interview and hired me. My first assignment was in Montgomery, Alabama, and I enjoyed that part of it. When they transferred me to Dallas for the second phase of the training, which was more technological and more of the business side of it, that’s when I discovered that corporate America was not for me! I was born to be a teacher, and I will always feel that way. One day I went into the office and told the manager that I was not happy working there, and that I wanted to go back home. Had I remained with EDS, I could have retired earning six figures, but what good is the money if you aren’t happy? There’s one thing I want to say about Mr. Perot——he took very good care of his employees. He provided life and health insurances for us at no cost to the employees. The home office in Dallas was a very beautiful place. I enjoyed seeing the beautiful arrangement of state flags surrounding the front of the office building.”
Starting her journey in education as a long--term sub at Forest Hills Elementary, and then Colleton Junior High, Bright was a teacher for 42 years. She continued her teaching career, deciding to move back to Montgomery. “I really liked Montgomery, and I taught there over 14 years, making some lifelong friends. I taught at Cloverdale Junior High and Carver Senior High Schools, but I began teaching in Hurtsboro, Alabama at Russell High School, one that was about the size of Ruffin High. I developed great relationships with many of my students and their families, even to this day.”
She eventually came back home and started teaching at Ruffin. Bright continues, “I taught at Ruffin for nine years and thoroughly enjoyed teaching there. It was just like being at home because I had previously taught at Russell
High School in Alabama. I liked being back in the small school setting. In 1992 the schools merged and became Colleton County High School and I continued teaching there until my retirement. I retired in 2018 and remained in retirement for four years. The district called me back and asked me to come and teach at the alternative school. I ended up teaching there part--time for two years.”
In 2023 Bright published her first book, A Calming Effect. “I had a lifelong dream of writing a book, and I finally accomplished that goal! I intend to write more books, and hopefully, sometime this year, I’ll start on my second book.” Bright says, “I know that God wants me to minister to His people. I started putting together my book from articles I had previously written for The Press and Standard. It just came together like that. God chose me to be an instrument for Him, to tell people of His love.”
Bright married Herman Bright in 2012. She says, “ Herman is just a one--of--a kind man. He’s genuine, he’s loving, he was a great educator, and he loves that band music. As a matter of fact, I can remember seeing his band in the Christmas parade many years ago. He was wearing a uniform, just like his students, and marching with the band. Our families go way back because his paternal grandfather, the late Mr. Cephus Bright, used to come and till my grandmother’s soil every year to get it ready for her garden. Herman’s late sister, Gwendolyn, and I graduated from high school together in 1973. I played in the band, also, before I sang in the chorus, under the direction of Mr. John Bomar, who was also Herman’s band director, and he was related to him as well.” Herman and Anna are very active members of Isaiah United Methodist Church in Walterboro.
When asked what she likes to do with her spare time, Bright says, “I like to travel and go various places to minister to people, letting them know how good God is, further, sharing with them my testimony.” Bright, also a community activist, is a member of several organizations and boards. In 2024, she was selected as one of 50 Most Influential Women by VIP Global Magazine, owned by one of her former students, Dr. Pasha Carter and her husband.
Anna Bright and her husband share a blended family, whom they both love dearly. They have three sons: Steven, James, and Kelly and a stepson Lee; a daughter, Margaret; and a nephew Shane, whom he helped to raise several years ago. Ironically enough, they all were musically inclined and spent some time playing in the middle and high school bands. All of their children attended / graduated from college and have diverse careers. They share five grandchildren who are “the apple of their eyes”! Bright’s lifelong motto has been, “If I can help somebody as I pass along, then my living shall not be in vain!”
