The Wright Gala 2022

Thank you for attending The Wright’s 2022 Gala!

Your support directly impacts the quality and scope of our future educational, activities, literacy initiatives, and public programs.  

Stay tuned for photos from the celebration.

Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History, 315 E. Warren Avenue, Detroit, MI 48201

2022 Gala Honorees

Pamela Alexander (Philanthropist)

Pamela Alexander joined KKR in 2022 as Head of Corporate Citizenship and a member of the Public Affairs team. Prior to joining KKR, Ms. Alexander was director of community development at Ford Motor Company Fund, the philanthropic arm of Ford Motor Company. Previously, she worked in the governmental affairs and finance operations at Ford Motor Company. Ms. Alexander serves on the Board of Directors for several non-profit organizations, including the Grammy Museum Foundation, the NAACP Foundation, the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, the Congressional Award Foundation and the Advisory Committee for the University of Michigan School of Dentistry. She received a B.A. in Sociology from Georgetown University and an M.P.A. from Columbia University. 

Senator Marshall Bullock (Advocate)

Senator Marshall Bullock began his path to public service at an early age. The lifelong Detroiter learned the basics of serving people, family and communities as an Eagle Scout. Bullock has dedicated nearly three decades of his career to improving the lives of youth through social work and as a juvenile justice advocate. He also was a key member of Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan’s administration, where he served as a district manager tasked with bringing residents together, combating blight and, ultimately, building stronger neighborhoods. 

Bullock continues to stand up for Detroit families and seniors in the state Senate, where he is focused on providing kids with a world-class education, making commonsense reforms to auto insurance, and fighting for accessible, affordable health care and mental health programs. 

Bullock is a graduate of Detroit Public Schools. He earned a degree in human services from the University of Phoenix. He and his wife, Angela, live in Detroit with their three children, Maya and twins Marshall III and Layla. 

Representative Joe Tate (Advocate)

State Representative Joe Tate is serving his second term representing Michigan’s 2nd House District, a diverse community that covers part of Detroit’s Lower East Side, Grosse Pointe Park, Grosse Pointe City, and Grosse Pointe Farms. 

Tate decided to run for this office as a part of his deep and lifelong commitment to public service. The value of service was taught to him through his parents—a teacher in the Detroit public school system, and a Detroit firefighter. His life has been shaped by teamwork, commitment, and community. 

As a teenager, Tate earned a scholarship to play football at Michigan State University before joining the National Football League. After the N.F.L., he went on to serve in the United States Marine Corps, deploying twice to Afghanistan during Operation Enduring Freedom. 

After an honorable discharge from the Marine Corps, he earned both an M.B.A. and a Master of Science in Environmental Policy and Planning from the University of Michigan. Before joining the Legislature, Tate helped small businesses grow their capacity as a program manager for the Detroit Economic Growth Corporation.

Dr. M. Roy Wilson (Educator)

Dr. M. Roy Wilson became the 12th president of Wayne State University on August 1, 2013. Since assuming leadership, President Wilson has pursued his vision to transform the university into the preeminent, public, urban research university known for academic and research excellence. 

Prior to joining Wayne State, President Wilson served as deputy director for strategic scientific planning and program coordination at the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities of the National Institutes of Health. 

Previously, President Wilson was vice president for health sciences and dean of the School of Medicine at Creighton University, president of the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, chancellor of the University of Colorado Denver, and concurrently chair of the board of directors of the University of Colorado Hospital/Anschutz Medical Campus. President Wilson also chaired the board of directors of the Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science and was acting president during part of that time.

Mario Moore (Artist)

Mario Moore (b. 1987) lives and works in Detroit, MI. Moore received a B.F.A. in Illustration from the College for Creative Studies (2009) and an M.F.A. in Painting from the Yale School of Art (2013). He has been awarded the prestigious Princeton Hodder Fellowship at Princeton University and has participated as an artist-in-residence at Knox College, Duke University, Fountainhead residency and the Josef and Anni Albers Foundation.  

 Moore’s work has afforded him many opportunities—from multiple exhibitions and featured articles including the New York Times. His work is in several public and private collections which include the Detroit Institute of Art, The Studio Museum in Harlem and Princeton University Art Museum. Moore’s work has been featured in numerous exhibitions including The Smart Museum, Chicago; the Smithsonian Museum traveling Sites Exhibition; Xavier University Art Gallery, New Orleans; the Urban Institute of Contemporary Art, Grand Rapids, MI; David Klein Gallery, Detroit; and the Jeffrey Deitch Gallery, New York.  In 2021, he had his first museum survey exhibition, Enshrined: Presence + Preservation, at the Charles H. Wright Museum in Detroit, MI. This show is currently at the California African American Museum until October 2022.