University of Virginia Library

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."