James T. White (politician)

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James T. White
Baptist

James T. White (August 25, 1837 – March 13, 1892) was a

The Arkansas Review. He was an African American and a Republican. In 1868 he was among the first six African Americans to serve in the Arkansas House.[1]

Early life

White was born in

New Providence, Indiana, to James and Catharine White. The family moved to the capital city of Indianapolis in 1850. His parents had died by 1860. White joined the Baptist church at the age of 17 and became a minister at the age of 21.[2]

In the spring of 1865, he was sent to the Consolidated American Baptist Convention held in

56th United States Colored Infantry permitted them to move into the old Cumberland church, where services were held for two years until White was able to build a small house for services.[2]

Move to Arkansas and career

Political success

In 1867, White organized an Arkansas Missionary Baptist convention in the capital city of Little Rock. In 1868, White supported

R. B. White represented Pulaski in the upper body of the general assembly.[10] White was defeated in campaigns for legislature in 1873[11] and 1881.[12]

During this time, he continued his work as a minister, and he succeeded in building two new churches, one in Helena and another in Little Rock. The church in Little Rock was destroyed by fire but rebuilt. He also organized the first Baptist District Association for Arkansas.[2] In 1874, White was attacked by a group of Democrats and thrown into the Mississippi River, which ran beside Helena.[13]

Political failures and later career

Early in 1874, Republican

Governor Elisha Baxter moved to re-enfranchise former Confederate soldiers, a move that alienated many of his base. His opponent in the 1872 election, Joseph Brooks, was then declared governor by a county judge who declared that election to be fraudulent. Each side raised militias mostly of black men, who fought several bloody battles, known as the Brooks–Baxter War. Phillips County Republicans desired to raise men to fight for Brooks, and White made a largely successful effort to prevent Phillips County men from joining.[14]

Later in 1874, White was elected to a second convention for the writing of a new state constitution. He then endeavored to raise money for a college, which was to be known as Helena University. This project failed, and White turned his effort to other work.[2] The organization was led by Rev. George Priest of Jonestown, Mississippi, Rev. Moses Proffit of Phillips County, and White.[15] Many elected and appointed positions in Phillips County were held by blacks from Reconstruction until about 1878. White played an important role in this, supporting an alliance between blacks (who were mostly Republican) and conservative white Democrats. Beyond White's legislative seats, blacks held positions as coroners and assessors, and H. B. Robinson served as county sheriff from 1874–1878,[16] defeating White in an election for that position in October 1874. In 1876, White ran for the position of circuit court clerk and lost. He then ran for the position of chancery clerk,[17] but lost.[18]

In 1884, he began to work for the Benevolent and Church Aid Society and became editor of The Arkansas Review.

William J. Simmons and Richard DeBaptiste. A major issue facing the group was unifying black Baptists for mutual support and to increase their "race confidence" as Solomon T. Clanton put it in a presentation of a paper he wrote. White's contribution included noted the importance of economic progress, how black Baptists were looked down upon in comparison to black Methodists, and especially the need for loyalty to the denomination.[19]
White was involved in
Helena Public Schools' board of directors.[21]

Death

White resigned from the pastorate of the Second Baptist Church in Helena in March 1891.[22] He died a year later of pneumonia in Helena, Arkansas.[23]

References

  1. ^ "Black History Month 2021".
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Simmons, William J., and Henry McNeal Turner. Men of Mark: Eminent, Progressive and Rising. GM Rewell & Company, 1887. p590-593.
  3. ^ Convention of Baptist Clergymen. Newark Daily Advertiser (Newark, New Jersey). Saturday, May 13, 1865, Page: 2
  4. ^ Rosen, Hannah. Terror in the Heart of Freedom: Citizenship, Sexual Violence, and the Meaning of Race in the Postemancipation South. Univ of North Carolina Press, 2009. p99
  5. ^ a b c Work, Monroe N., Thomas S. Staples, H. A. Wallace, Kelly Miller, Whitefield McKinlay, Samuel E. Lacy, R. L. Smith, and H. R. McIlwaine. "Some Negro Members of Reconstruction Conventions and Legislatures and of Congress." The Journal of Negro History 5, no. 1 (1920): 63–119.
  6. ^ Graves, John William. Town and country: race relations and urban development in Arkansas 1865–1905. University of Arkansas Press, 1978. p48
  7. ^ Debates and Proceedings of the Convention which Assembled at Little Rock, January 7th, 1868 ...: To Form a Constitution for the State of Arkansas. J. G. Price, printer to the convention. 1868.
  8. ^ Arkansas History Commission, Rev. J. T. White, summary, Persistence of the Spirit Collection. Retrieved November 2, 2016 at https://beta.worldcat.org/archivegrid/collection/data/47211026
  9. ^ The Minstrel Split in Phillips County, Daily Arkansas Gazette (Little Rock, Arkansas) August 10, 1872, page 2. Retrieved November 2, 2016 at https://www.newspapers.com/clip/7289912//
  10. ^ The Colored Legislators. Daily Arkansas Gazette (Little Rock, Arkansas) February 1, 1873, page 2. Retrieved November 2, 2016 at https://www.newspapers.com/clip/7289953/the_colored_legislators_daily_arkansas/
  11. ^ Lee County. Rev. J. T. White—His Congressional Aspirations—The Banner County. Arkansas Gazette (Little Rock, Arkansas) Tuesday, June 17, 1873. Page: 1
  12. ^ Running Down Slanders. The Truth About the Election in Phillips County. No Republicans Prevented From. Arkansas Gazette (Little Rock, Arkansas). Tuesday, September 12, 1882. Page: 4.
  13. ^ Work Projects Administration, Slave Narratives: A Folk History of Slavery in the United States from Interviews with Former Slaves, Arkansas Narratives, Part 4, page Interviewer: Miss Irene Robertson Person interviewed: Ellis Jefson (M. E. Preacher), Hazen, Ark. Age: 77. Retrieved November 3, 2016 at https://archive.org/details/slavenarrativesa25154gut
  14. ^ Brooks at Helena, Arkansas Gazette (Little Rock, Arkansas) April 29, 1874, page 1. Retrieved November 2, 2016 at https://www.newspapers.com/clip/7290068/brooks_at_helena_daily_arkansas/
  15. ^ Facts [Illegible] at the University for Colored People at Helena. Arkansas Gazette (Little Rock, Arkansas). Thursday, February 3, 1881. Page: 1.
  16. ^ Stockley, Grif. Blood in Their Eyes: the Elaine Race Massacres of 1919 (p). University of Arkansas Press, 2001. p21
  17. ^ The "New Deal" Ticket. Arkansas Gazette (Little Rock, Arkansas) Saturday, July 29, 1876. Page: 2. Retrieved November 3, 2016 at https://www.newspapers.com/clip/7299318/the_new_deal_ticket_arkansas_gazette/
  18. ^ More Fun. Second Day's Proceedings—A Full State Ticket Nominated. Second Day's Proceedings. Arkansas Gazette (Little Rock, Arkansas) Saturday, July 29, 1876 Page: 4. Retrieved November 3, 2016 at https://www.newspapers.com/clip/7299669//
  19. ^ Washington, James Melvin, The Making of a Church with the Soul of a Nation, 1880–1889, in eds West, Cornel, and Eddie S. Glaude, eds. African American religious thought: An anthology. Westminster John Knox Press, 2003. p419
  20. ^ Cox, Joseph. Great Black Men of Masonry. iUniverse, 2002. p338-339
  21. ^ Hon. J. T. White. Morning Republican (Little Rock, Arkansas) Tuesday, February 25, 1873. Volume: 6 Issue: 274 Page: 2
  22. ^ Driftwood, The Appeal (Saint Paul, Minnesota) March 14, 1891, page 1. Retrieved November 3, 2016 at https://www.newspapers.com/clip/7299767/driftwood_the_appeal_saint_paul/
  23. ^ The Rev. J. T. White, Helena, Ark, Chicago Tribune (Chicago, Illinois) March 16, 1892, page 5. Retrieved November 3, 2016 at https://web.archive.org/web/20170816012108/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/7299785/the_rev_j_t_white_helena_ark/
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