University of Virginia Library

Charlottesville Black Editor
Runs Successful Enterprise

By Marc Swing

Photos by Chris Dickey

Though few people may know it,
Charlottesville has a black newspaper -
has, in fact, had one for fifteen years.
Largely on his own, Mr. Randolph L.
White has been writing and publishing the
weekly Charlottesville-Albemarle Tribune
since 1954. In these fifteen years, the
paper's size and circulation have increased
steadily: it has been a successful
enterprise.

Mr. White himself is an enterprising
man, the type one is not too surprised to
find in such a position. In an interview
Friday, February 27, Mr. White spoke of
his past, his paper, and his opinions.

Charlottesville Resident

Mr. White has lived in the
Charlottesville area most of his life. Born
in Brown's Cove. Virginia, Mr. White
moved in 1912 to Kentucky and from there to
Columbus. Ohio where he attended Central
High School. He next joined the army, serving
twelve years and attending at one point Army
Clerical School. Blacks and whites "got along
well" in the service then, White said.

In 1931, Mr. White began writing for the
Afro-American, a national black weekly, and
then in 1932, back in Charlottesville, he
organized Negro labor at the University
Hospital. He published during this time the
Beam, a paper for the black Hospital workers.
In 1949, he began working for the University
Hospital as an inhalation therapist, and
continued this until 1965.

In 1954, the Roanoke Tribune, a black
weekly to which Mr. White had been
contributing, offered its editorship to him. He
took the job, changed the paper's name and
moved it to Charlottesville. Aside from
numerous contributors of social news, two or
three editorialists and a small advertising staff,
Mr. White writes and publishes the paper alone.

Interestingly enough, this black paper has
never had problems with white repression. Mr.
White, in fact, seemed reluctant to criticize
white efforts to help or hurt the Negro. Still, he
believes strongly in integration "by whatever
means necessary," including busing. "After all,
whites used to take buses miles to go to an all
white school."

What the black man really needs, said Mr.
White, is "training and opportunities." Poor
people must be trained in skills and attitudes."
"You've got to be able to work with people,"
said Mr. White. The most important thing, he
believes, is to "get money in peoples' pockets. I
don't believe in black power or white power
just green power."

Substantial Improvement

While he supported neither Godwin nor
Holton (he has "quit going overboard for
political parties"), Mr. White feels that Holton
is a substantial improvement over Mr. Godwin.
He labelled President Nixon a "wishy-washy
opportunist" who wants only to "get back in
there, and thinks Dixie will do it for him."

While he understands the frustration
students feel today, Mr. White does not support
violent protest. "We have a system here, let's
follow it," he said, advocating peaceful
demonstrations.

Asked about the Tribune's future, Mr. White
said he would offer the editorship to someone
else "pretty soon." Friday had been a busy day
and he was not yet finished. "There's always
work to do... always work to do," said Mr.
White.