In His Own Words

In His Own Words: The Writings, Speeches, and Letters of George Henry White, 1881-1918 offers a comprehensive view of the career of an African American political pioneer. The first African American to serve in the U.S. Congress in the twentieth century, George Henry White was also a renowned American orator and public servant for nearly four decades.

Editor Benjamin Justesen, author of George Henry White: An Even Chance in the Race of Life-the first full-length biography of White (2001)- compiled this exhaustive supplementary collection. Known best for his 1901 "farewell speech" to Congress, White's varied career extended far beyond the U.S. Capitol, including a powerful role as an early civil rights leader. Beginning as a North Carolina lawyer, Republican legislator, and school principal and ending as a Philadelphia banker and assistant city solicitor, he personally touched the lives of thousands with words and deeds. White also set a rare example of selfless racial leadership during a troubled period by founding Whitesboro, the experimental New Jersey colony which still bears his name.

Letters, speeches, and other documents highlight White's eloquent thoughts on key issues of the day, such as: the epidemic of lynching Southern disfranchisement of African American voters the dismissal of African American soldiers after the Brownsville, Texas, incident the most effective political philosophy for African Americans. In His Own Words offers a rare glimpse into the mind of a true American hero, as well as a compact, useful tool for scholars of the post-Reconstruction era of American history.