William J. White (journalist) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
William J. White
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White in 1892
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| Born | December 25, 1831 Ruckersville, Georgia, U.S.
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| Died | April 17, 1913 (aged 81) Augusta, Georgia, U.S.
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| Alma mater | Augusta Institute, Simmons College of Kentucky |
| Occupation | Minister, educator, journalist |
| Political party | Republican |
| Religion | Baptist |
William Jefferson White (born December 25, 1831 – died April 17, 1913) was an important leader in the civil rights movement. He was also a minister, a teacher, and a journalist in Augusta, Georgia.
White started the Harmony Baptist Church in Augusta, Georgia, in 1869. He also helped create other churches. He was a co-founder of the Augusta Institute in 1867, which later became Morehouse College. He also helped start Atlanta University and served on the boards of both schools. In 1880, he founded and managed the Georgia Baptist newspaper. This paper became a leading voice for African Americans for many years. He was known for speaking out strongly for civil rights.
Contents
Early Life and Learning
William Jefferson White was born on December 25, 1831, in Ruckersville, Georgia. His mother, Chaney, was African American and Native American. His father, William White, was white. Even though he could have passed as white, William chose to identify as black.
His mother, who was enslaved, taught him to read. William himself was never enslaved. When he was seven, he started working in a cotton factory for three years. He also worked briefly selling factory goods from a wagon.
In June 1842, he moved to Augusta, Georgia. There, he lived with the Nimms family and learned how to write. He then became a carpenter's apprentice for five years. After that, he worked as a cabinet maker for two years. He continued this work until 1867. During the American Civil War (1861-1865), it was hard to get printing supplies in the South. White learned to make wooden parts for printing presses. This skill helped him later in his journalism career. He never went to college formally. However, he did take classes at the Augusta Institute, which he helped create. In 1889, he received an honorary Doctor of Divinity degree.
Career as an Educator
William White started teaching early in his life. In 1853, he opened a secret night school in someone's home. He started another school in 1854, which stayed open until the family moved away. After that, he taught this school at a judge's house without the judge knowing. Later in 1854, he opened a third school.
After slavery ended, his work in education continued. On January 12, 1867, White was chosen to be an educational agent for the Freedmen's Bureau. He organized schools for black children across Georgia. He also fought against unfair curfews for black people. He helped black citizens register to vote. He created groups to support education and worked to get land and build schools.
White left the Freedmen's Bureau in 1869. He then worked for the government's tax department until 1880. He left that job to focus fully on his religious work. Also in 1869, he became a trustee for the new Atlanta University.
White founded the Augusta Institute in 1867. He served as a trustee there too. He helped move the Augusta Institute to Atlanta and change its name to the Atlanta Baptist Seminary. He continued to serve on its board. He also strongly supported Ware High School for black students in Augusta. He was very upset when the school closed in 1897. This happened because money was moved to support white elementary schools. He also helped found and was a trustee at the Spelman Seminary, which started in 1882.
Ministry Work
William White was baptized on October 7, 1855, at Springfield Baptist Church in Augusta, Georgia. He was allowed to lead prayers in 1858 and to preach in 1862. On January 8, 1859, he started a Sunday School. He led this school for nine years.
On April 1, 1866, he became an ordained minister. He began holding church meetings in 1867. On May 10, 1868, White and six others started the Harmony Baptist Church. They bought land for the church next to where they held meetings. On the first Sunday of July 1869, he officially became the pastor of Harmony Baptist Church. This church grew partly from the Sunday Schools he led. White also started Watery Branch Baptist Church and Simonia Baptist Church in Columbia County.
When the Missionary Baptist Convention of Georgia was formed in August 1870, White was chosen as its treasurer. He held this job for fourteen years. He also worked as a missionary agent for the group.
White was involved in many other Baptist groups. He was treasurer of the Shiloh Association from 1870. He also co-founded and led the Colored Georgia Baptist Sunday School Convention for many years, starting in 1872. He was a secretary for the Missionary Baptist Convention and the Sunday School Convention of Georgia. He also chaired the Baptist Centennial Committee of Georgia.
Journalism Career
White became involved in printing and journalism right after the Civil War ended in 1865. He helped John T. Shuften Sr. produce The Colored American newspaper. He was also secretary of the Lohal Georgian Printing Company, which printed that paper and its next version, The Loyal Georgian. He wrote for these papers and for a white Republican paper, the Georgia Republican. All these papers were based in Augusta. He also worked for several years as the Augusta reporter for the Atlanta Republican.
In 1880, White took on a special mission for the American Baptist Publication Society. Starting in May 1880, he was part of a plan by the Missionary Baptist Convention of Georgia to create a newspaper. White was chosen to edit and manage the paper. He invested $1000 of his own money. On October 28, 1880, the first edition of the Georgia Baptist was printed.
The newspaper was very successful. It became the largest printing office in the country owned only by black people. It printed both the newspaper and other materials.
White's strong opinions sometimes put him at odds with other black leaders. In the 1880s, Richard R. Wright disagreed with White's support for the Colored Conventions Movement. Wright felt the movement focused too much on race. Later, both White and Wright became allies with Booker T. Washington. White also sometimes disagreed with Charles T. Walker.
White became part of a group of Baptists who wanted black and white church leaders to be separate. This group was led by Emanuel K. Love, who White had mentored. This put him against other important leaders, like William E. Holmes.
In 1899, White spoke out strongly against the lynching of seven men in Palmetto, Georgia. Five of these men were killed. He also spoke out against the lynching of Sam Hose later that year in Newnan, Georgia. White's life was threatened by a mob in 1900 because of his writings against lynching. He was forced to take back and apologize for an article he wrote.
White's support for the convention movement grew even stronger after the Niagara Movement. In 1906, he organized the Georgia Equal Rights Convention. This meeting brought together important leaders like John Hope, W. E. B. Du Bois, Bishop Henry McNeil Turner, Judson Lyons, J. Max Barber, and A. D. Williams. This group was very vocal and had wide-reaching goals. They called for an end to Jim Crow cars on railroads. They wanted African Americans to join the Georgia militia and serve on juries. They also pushed for better schools for black children, a fairer justice system, and an end to efforts to stop black people from voting. White, who was a conservative, gave the main speech. However, W. E. B. Du Bois, who often disagreed with Booker T. Washington, gave the keynote speech.
In September 1906, White wrote in the Georgia Baptist against the people involved in the Atlanta Riots. Because of this, angry white people threatened to burn down his printing office and home. They also threatened to kill him if he did not leave the city. White and his friend, George Sale, asked the mayor of Augusta for protection. The mayor promised to try but told White it would be safer to leave. White fled to South Carolina and stayed there until October. When he returned to Augusta, his tone changed. He began to call for black and white people to work together.
Personal Life and Death
William White married Josephine in 1856. Josephine passed away in 1903.
White's son, Lucian Hayden White, became an editor and business manager at the Georgia Baptist newspaper.
William Jefferson White died on April 17, 1913, in Augusta.
Images for kids
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White in 1892
