Eartha M. M. White
Encyclopedia
Eartha Mary Magdalene White (November 8, 1876 - January 18, 1974) was an American
humanitarian, philanthropist, and businesswoman.
, White was the 13th child of a former slave. She was adopted by Clara English White at a very young age and the two had an extremely loving relationship. It was from her mother's example that White sought to improve the condition of the poor and helpless people in Jacksonville.
In her youth, White attended schools in Florida and New York. In 1893, upon graduation from the Stanton School
in Jacksonville, she moved to New York City for a brief period in order to avoid a yellow fever
quarantine. After high school she attended the Madam Hall Beauty School and the National Conservatory of Music
. She also became an opera singer with the Oriental American Opera Company (the first African-American opera company), where she sang as a lyric soprano
and traveled with the company throughout the United States and Europe. She returned to Florida in 1896, where she graduated from the Florida Baptist Academy.
.
In 1899, Bartolo Genovar was persuaded by Ms. White to donate land and lumber for a new school when she was assigned to teach there.
Thus began a sixteen-year teaching career in Bayard and later at her alma mater, the Stanton School. She also became involved in political activities by participating in the Republican Party
as well as beginning the Colored Citizens Protective League in Jacksonville. In 1941, she joined with A. Philip Randolph
to protest job discrimination.
White was engaged to marry at age 20, but her fiance, who worked for a railroad in South Carolina, was killed in an accident.
She remained single, lived frugally, and spent all her money on a wide range of philanthropic activities. When asked about her social life, Eartha responded, "I never married. I was too busy - What man would put up with me running around the way I do?" In addition to the regular people that Eartha knew, she had several notable friends, including Charles Edward Bennett
, Booker T. Washington
, Mary McLeod Bethune
, James Weldon Johnson
and first lady Eleanor Roosevelt
.
Eartha White's biggest contribution to the Jacksonville community was through the Clara White Mission
(CWM). Racial segregation
required separation between the races, so African-Americans were the primary beneficiaries of her work. Earth's mother, Clara White, died in 1920, but Eartha continued their "mission work", and at the height of the great depression
the operation grew so large, it had to be moved from its residential location. Eartha White obtained the closed Globe Theatre Building on West Ashley Street, and the facility was dedicated in her mother's memory. The CWM was the only non-profit organization serving daily meals to the needy in Jacksonville.
Eartha's other endeavors included establishing Mercy (tuberculosis) Hospital, the Boy's Improvement Club (to reduce delinquency), establishing Oakland Park (the first public park in Jacksonville for African Americans), a halfway house for alcoholics in recovery, a program for released prisoners to help re-enter society, a comprehensive maternity program with a home for unwed mothers, an orphanage and an adoption agency, and a child care center.
In 1902, Eartha and her mother began the "Colored Old Folks Home", which became the "Eartha White Nursing Home", and is presently named, Eartha M. M. White Health Care, Inc., a 125-bed, $780,000.00 facility, begun when Eartha was 89.
In 1970 she was awarded the Lane Bryant Award for Volunteer Service and was appointed to the President's National Center for Voluntary Action in 1971. At a reception at the White House
with President Nixon
, she was asked how she would spend her cash award. "I've already decided I want it to serve humanity. What would I do with it? Sit around the Plaza Hotel
? I'm too busy." Florida Governor Reubin Askew honored her at age 95 as Florida’s Outstanding Senior Citizen.
Eartha White died of heart failure at age ninety-seven on January 18, 1974.
She was designated a Great Floridian
by the Florida Department of State in the Great Floridians 2000 Program. A plaque attesting to the honor is located at the Clara White Mission.
's Thomas G. Carpenter Library Special Collections and the Clara White Mission. Both groups of items are allowed to be viewed by the public.
The Eartha M.M. White Memorial Art and Historical Resource Center was dedicated on December 17, 1978 and contains most of her furniture, objets d'art and possessions. The "museum" is located on the second floor of the original Clara White Mission building in downtown Jacksonville.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
humanitarian, philanthropist, and businesswoman.
Early life
Born in Jacksonville, FloridaJacksonville, Florida
Jacksonville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Florida in terms of both population and land area, and the largest city by area in the contiguous United States. It is the county seat of Duval County, with which the city government consolidated in 1968...
, White was the 13th child of a former slave. She was adopted by Clara English White at a very young age and the two had an extremely loving relationship. It was from her mother's example that White sought to improve the condition of the poor and helpless people in Jacksonville.
In her youth, White attended schools in Florida and New York. In 1893, upon graduation from the Stanton School
Stanton College Preparatory School
Stanton College Preparatory School is an academically renowned American high school located in Jacksonville, Florida, whose history dates to the 1860s, when it was begun as an elementary school serving the African-American population under the then-segregated education system. It now serves...
in Jacksonville, she moved to New York City for a brief period in order to avoid a yellow fever
Yellow fever
Yellow fever is an acute viral hemorrhagic disease. The virus is a 40 to 50 nm enveloped RNA virus with positive sense of the Flaviviridae family....
quarantine. After high school she attended the Madam Hall Beauty School and the National Conservatory of Music
National Conservatory of Music
National Conservatory of Music may refer to:* CNSM de Lyon, in Lyon, France* National Conservatory of Music * National Conservatory of Music of America, a school founded by Jeannette Thurber in New York City in 1885...
. She also became an opera singer with the Oriental American Opera Company (the first African-American opera company), where she sang as a lyric soprano
Soprano
A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody...
and traveled with the company throughout the United States and Europe. She returned to Florida in 1896, where she graduated from the Florida Baptist Academy.
Adult life
After graduation, White fought for construction of the first public school for African-Americans in the community of BayardBayard, Jacksonville, Florida
Bayard is a historical community of Duval County, Jacksonville, Florida. Originally platted in 1884, the community was a busy stopping point for tourists and industry through the early part of the 20th century...
.
In 1899, Bartolo Genovar was persuaded by Ms. White to donate land and lumber for a new school when she was assigned to teach there.
Thus began a sixteen-year teaching career in Bayard and later at her alma mater, the Stanton School. She also became involved in political activities by participating in the Republican Party
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
as well as beginning the Colored Citizens Protective League in Jacksonville. In 1941, she joined with A. Philip Randolph
A. Philip Randolph
Asa Philip Randolph was a leader in the African American civil-rights movement and the American labor movement. He organized and led the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, the first predominantly Negro labor union. In the early civil-rights movement, Randolph led the March on Washington...
to protest job discrimination.
White was engaged to marry at age 20, but her fiance, who worked for a railroad in South Carolina, was killed in an accident.
She remained single, lived frugally, and spent all her money on a wide range of philanthropic activities. When asked about her social life, Eartha responded, "I never married. I was too busy - What man would put up with me running around the way I do?" In addition to the regular people that Eartha knew, she had several notable friends, including Charles Edward Bennett
Charles Edward Bennett
Charles Edward Bennett was a member of the United States House of Representatives from Florida from 1949 to 1993. He was a Democrat who resided in Jacksonville, Florida.-Early years:...
, Booker T. Washington
Booker T. Washington
Booker Taliaferro Washington was an American educator, author, orator, and political leader. He was the dominant figure in the African-American community in the United States from 1890 to 1915...
, Mary McLeod Bethune
Mary McLeod Bethune
Mary Jane McLeod Bethune was an American educator and civil rights leader best known for starting a school for African American students in Daytona Beach, Florida, that eventually became Bethune-Cookman University and for being an advisor to President Franklin D...
, James Weldon Johnson
James Weldon Johnson
James Weldon Johnson was an American author, politician, diplomat, critic, journalist, poet, anthologist, educator, lawyer, songwriter, and early civil rights activist. Johnson is remembered best for his leadership within the NAACP, as well as for his writing, which includes novels, poems, and...
and first lady Eleanor Roosevelt
Eleanor Roosevelt
Anna Eleanor Roosevelt was the First Lady of the United States from 1933 to 1945. She supported the New Deal policies of her husband, distant cousin Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and became an advocate for civil rights. After her husband's death in 1945, Roosevelt continued to be an international...
.
Eartha White's biggest contribution to the Jacksonville community was through the Clara White Mission
Clara White Mission
The Clara White Mission is a non-profit organization in downtown Jacksonville, Florida that advocates for the poor and provides social services...
(CWM). Racial segregation
Racial segregation
Racial segregation is the separation of humans into racial groups in daily life. It may apply to activities such as eating in a restaurant, drinking from a water fountain, using a public toilet, attending school, going to the movies, or in the rental or purchase of a home...
required separation between the races, so African-Americans were the primary beneficiaries of her work. Earth's mother, Clara White, died in 1920, but Eartha continued their "mission work", and at the height of the great depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
the operation grew so large, it had to be moved from its residential location. Eartha White obtained the closed Globe Theatre Building on West Ashley Street, and the facility was dedicated in her mother's memory. The CWM was the only non-profit organization serving daily meals to the needy in Jacksonville.
Eartha's other endeavors included establishing Mercy (tuberculosis) Hospital, the Boy's Improvement Club (to reduce delinquency), establishing Oakland Park (the first public park in Jacksonville for African Americans), a halfway house for alcoholics in recovery, a program for released prisoners to help re-enter society, a comprehensive maternity program with a home for unwed mothers, an orphanage and an adoption agency, and a child care center.
In 1902, Eartha and her mother began the "Colored Old Folks Home", which became the "Eartha White Nursing Home", and is presently named, Eartha M. M. White Health Care, Inc., a 125-bed, $780,000.00 facility, begun when Eartha was 89.
In 1970 she was awarded the Lane Bryant Award for Volunteer Service and was appointed to the President's National Center for Voluntary Action in 1971. At a reception at the White House
White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
with President Nixon
Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. The only president to resign the office, Nixon had previously served as a US representative and senator from California and as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961 under...
, she was asked how she would spend her cash award. "I've already decided I want it to serve humanity. What would I do with it? Sit around the Plaza Hotel
Plaza Hotel
The Plaza Hotel in New York City is a landmark 20-story luxury hotel with a height of and length of that occupies the west side of Grand Army Plaza, from which it derives its name, and extends along Central Park South in Manhattan. Fifth Avenue extends along the east side of Grand Army Plaza...
? I'm too busy." Florida Governor Reubin Askew honored her at age 95 as Florida’s Outstanding Senior Citizen.
Eartha White died of heart failure at age ninety-seven on January 18, 1974.
She was designated a Great Floridian
Great Floridians
Great Floridian is a title bestowed upon citizens in the state of Florida by the Florida Department of State. There were actually two formal programs...
by the Florida Department of State in the Great Floridians 2000 Program. A plaque attesting to the honor is located at the Clara White Mission.
Collections
Eartha White's private collection of photographs, correspondence and historical documents was split, after her death, between the University of North FloridaUniversity of North Florida
The University of North Florida is a public university located in Jacksonville, Florida. A member institution of the State University System of Florida, the university is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award baccalaureate, master’s...
's Thomas G. Carpenter Library Special Collections and the Clara White Mission. Both groups of items are allowed to be viewed by the public.
The Eartha M.M. White Memorial Art and Historical Resource Center was dedicated on December 17, 1978 and contains most of her furniture, objets d'art and possessions. The "museum" is located on the second floor of the original Clara White Mission building in downtown Jacksonville.