Federal Writers' Project – Life Histories/2020/Fall/105/Section068/John Lee White

Overview

John Lee White was an African American born on April 20, 1879 in Durham, North Carolina. In the 1800s, it was fairly uncommon for African Americans to self pursue and receive higher education. White defied these educational limits placed upon him by his racial classification by working to fund and receive his own education. He attended county school, Kester School, and later Fosgrave University on a scholarship. In the end, he received his A.B. and Masters degree in Theological School. While attending Fosgrave University, White met his first wife. Later, they married and had three children. White was a pastor of a local church in Bangor, and his wife was a school teacher. In March 1911, his wife and him bought their first home in Condor. This began White’s slow accumulation of property, which further defied typical circumstances and limitations associated with his race. White owned four house properties and a car. He was content with these possessions, understanding that a typical man of his race did not often achieve such monetary successes. White experienced a great tragedy in his life, when his first wife died in a car crash. Years later, White began to pursue a new relationship. In 1933, he married his second wife, and they had another daughter. White was a Presbyterian and strong in his faith, relying on God to survive through testing and burdensome times. Despite the racial limitations of his time, White remained passionate in his faith and had tremendous educational and financial accomplishments.

Early Life

White was born on April 20, 1879 in Durham, North Carolina. His parents owned a small farm and home, where he worked for small earnings. As a child, White enjoyed playing alone and figuring out his own childish problems. This early sense of independence would continue throughout his life. White liked to jump, beginning with a jump rope and then advancing to fences. He also liked to construct mud bricks and houses, using all his ambition to construct complex mud buildings.

Education

White always had a passion for education, attending county schools until age eighteen and then working to further his education. He wished to attend Kester School, a grade school twelve miles away. He lived cheaply and independently, having poor clothes and resources that other students often mocked. However, the insults of other students did not affect his mindset, as he was receiving an education to better his lifestyle. To him, his education was more important than popularity.

After Kester, White worked all summer on a cotton patch at his father’s farm. In the fall, he cultivated his cotton patch for a total of twenty four dollars that he used to attend Fosgrave University. After purchasing his books, railroad ticket, and cheap clothes, he was left with only ten dollars to fund his education at Fosgrave. In his third year, he received a scholarship and a small elementary teaching job to help fund his education and survival. At Fosgrave, he received his A.B. degree and continued his education to receive a masters in Theological School.

Adult Life

During his time at Fosgrave University, White met his first wife. She was a student at the neighboring Shreve University. In March 1911, his first and him bought their first home in Condor. With her, he had three children: one son and two daughters. White’s career as a pastor began at a local church in Bangor, while his wife was a teacher. As a pastor, White sought to encourage African Americans to overcome challenges of racial discrimination by finding hope in their faith. With his masters in Theology, White provided an in-depth perspective to the African American community that they did not often experience. He trusted strongly in the mercy of God, relying on his faith to survive challenging times with money and racial limitations.

With his gradual earnings from his sermons, White accumulated a small amount of property, yet still a significant amount for an African American during his time. His main home was valued at $4,000, of which he was most proud. He owned another house valued at $3,000 and two others valued at $1,600. His car was valued at $1,000. White was content and proud of his possessions. These possessions were significant for an African American male of the time, as they faced a multitude of financial limitations due to their race. At the time, obtaining these possessions was difficult for African Americans. Property was not easily accumulated due to the lack of wealth, social status, and trust that banks had in African Americans. So, White’s accumulation and continued possession of these properties were significant in displaying how he yet again defied racial limitations of his time.

In the early 1920’s, White experienced a great tragedy. His first wife passed away due to injuries sustained in a car accident. This accident caused White immense grief. He was unsure of how to properly care for their children alone, and he felt partially to blame for her accident because she was heading to hear his sermon. White relied on his faith to overcome his grieve, and he eventually reentered the dating field. He began dating another young woman in 1933. This young woman was also a teacher, and the local school board declared that no women teachers who were married after April 1 of that year would remain employed. Because of this, his second marriage was rushed. White had only been seeing her for a short time, but decided to get married before April 1 to continue the relationship and ensure her employment. With his second wife, they had another daughter. Together, they cared for his four children, on his sermon earnings and her small teacher’s salary.

Beliefs

He was a Presbyterian in faith, but believed himself to be a liberal one. White did not believe it necessary to be a Presbyterian in order to be saved. He also did not believe that his faith provided him a sense of hierarchy or better moral sense than anyone else. To him, faith in religion was a privilege for all men to choose and decide upon for themselves only.

White stated that “as for politics, that doesn’t bother me. I vote for the man.” As a man of religion, he did not concern himself with fighting social inequities or political injustices. Rather, he focused on promoting the goodness of all men and supporting what he viewed as best for God’s children.

Racial Challenges

Throughout White’s life, he experienced racial limitations. Often, he found himself working harder to defy the racial discrimination and unfair stereotypes placed upon him. White accepted how his race affected his life journey and social status, unwilling to be discouraged on his path towards higher education and his later commitment to his faith.

Social Issues

Pictured above is the extreme poverty in which many African Americans lived. Because jobs were limited, African American families often had a sparse income. They could not afford elaborate houses, meals, clothing, or many of the luxuries whites experienced.

Economic Iniquities for African Americans:

Throughout the Great Depression, African Americans experienced higher unemployment rates and smaller availability of job opportunities in comparison to the employment status of most whites. Unemployment rates were dramatically higher for African Americans even within specific occupations, which was largely a result due to racial differences. African Americans were typically regarded as the “last hired, first fired.” During a time of limited economic growth and employment opportunities, African Americans were extremely unlikely to receive one of the few available employment opportunities. The employment opportunities available for African Americans were highly undesirable. Often, these opportunities included gruesome factory jobs that required high effort labor with a small wage that barely compensated for such work. Mostly, African Americans could only acquire unskilled service, factory, or other excessively laborious jobs. African Americans would not be hired before a white, and if they were hired, they were held to significantly higher standards. Simple mistakes would result in the firing of an African American, as society anticipated failure with their job performance before the job even began. Because of the difficulty to obtain employment, many African American communities were engulfed in poverty. Families could not afford to feed their children or to live in nice neighborhoods. Most African Americans lived in a small house, sharing bedrooms with family members and dividing up meals to portions insufficient for growing children. These families “resided in unpainted houses that were little more than shacks. Virtually all lived without indoor plumbing or window screens.” African Americans did not enjoy the same privileges of whites, as their standard of living was greatly lesser in opportunities, resources, and luxuries such as plumbing, meal availability, and job availability. During the Great Depression, racist attitudes hardened. Many whites blamed African Americans for the economy’s inability to recover, and African American communities suffered as a result. African Americans were limited in every way, but they could not sustain their livelihood due to the economic limitations they endured.

Pictured above is an overcrowded African American classroom. Students do not have their own desks or books, and a mix of grades is present. These students are a common example of overcrowded and underfunded African American schools during the late 1800's and early 1900's.

Educational Limitations for African Americans:

Due to segregation, African American schools suffered from unfair educational opportunities. Although schools were regarded as “separate but equal,” white schools received higher public funding than African American schools. As a result, African Americans suffered from limited resources, funds, and educational opportunities. In general, there were fewer African American children enrolled in school. Often, African American parents pulled their children out of school, because they needed help at home, on the farm, or working jobs to make ends meet. Also, if African American families were employed by a white family, the white owner could withdraw the family’s children from school to promote the farm’s labor and profits. With less funding, African American schools were not as widespread as white schools. If a town could not afford two separate schools, then only a white school would be built. Because of this, African Americans often had to travel to receive an education, and their schools would consist of multiple grades studying under one teacher often in only one classroom. Many times, African American schools did not have desks or books for students to use in their studies. At the time, the government regulated what African Americans could learn and how their schools should be operated. So, if African Americans did receive an education, it was a limited one that they worked hard to receive. It was rare for African Americans to surpass the fourth grade, so college graduates in the African American demographic were almost unheard of. African Americans that received a full education were regarded as lucky, as others believed their success and education to be a mere result of luck in opportunity. Addressing the class divide, it is believed that “if such opportunity were extended and broadened, a thousand times as many Negroes could join the ranks of the educated and able, instead of sinking into poverty, disease, and crime.” If African Americans received an education and were given the same opportunities as whites, they could have been just as successful and socially impactful. But, as most African Americans were uneducated, their limited social status was ensured. Without an education, the African American demographic was not expected to acquire better jobs, living standards, or have the power and knowledge necessary to demand social reform. Ultimately, the government ran by whites reinforced racial discrimination and inferiority with limited educational opportunities for African Americans.

Significance of White's Life

As White received an education, he defied educational limitations imposed by the higher empowered whites. White worked to pay his own way through his education, determined to become educated and defy the limitations imposed against him. Receiving his masters degree, White could pursue higher quality employment opportunities than most African Americans of his time. With his position as a local pastor, White earnings allowed him to obtain several properties and a higher quality of living. White defied economic limitations placed upon the African American community, as he escaped a life of poverty through obtaining multiple properties with significant value and supporting his own children’s education. White’s life is significant as one of the first African American to exceed expectations for their demographic, proving that African Americans could be significant members of society given the same opportunities as whites.