Eartha Mary Magdalene White, a prominent African-American resident of Jacksonville, Florida, was widely known for her humanitarian and philanthropic endeavors in northeast Florida.
Given the name Eartha, which means, “Storehouse to All,” Dr. Eartha Mary Magdalene White was a humanitarian, philanthropist, and businesswoman. Born on November 8, 1876 in Jacksonville, Florida, Eartha displayed a lifelong commitment to helping others. Her mother, Clara White, washer primary role model, and mother and daughter became a deeply committed team in their unflagging dedication to helping others. Indeed, Eartha White later embraced her mother’s motto as her own: “Do all the good you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, for all the people you can, while you can.”
In 1893, upon graduation from Stanton School in Jacksonville, Florida, Eartha White moved to New York City for a brief period. A lyric soprano, she sang in the first African-American opera company in the United States under the direction of J. Rosamond Johnson, brother of James Weldon Johnson. The Johnson brothers were also from Jacksonville and would later compose the hymn “Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing.” Upon returning to Florida in 1896, she decided to continue her education and graduated from Florida Baptist Academy. With degree in hand, she embarked on a sixteen-year teaching career in Bayard, Florida, and later at her alma mater, Stanton School, in Jacksonville.
At the same time, Eartha White also displayed considerable business acumen, as evidenced by her various entrepreneurial endeavors which included owning a dry good store, an employment and house cleaning company, a taxi company, and a steam laundry. Her versatility and determination also enabled her to become a licensed real estate broker, the first woman employee of the Afro-American Life Insurance Company in Jacksonville, and a charter member of both the National Negro Business League and Jacksonville Business League. Thanks to her numerous businesses and astute real estate transactions, it is estimated that she accumulated over one million dollars in assets throughout her lifetime. According to Dr. Daniel Schafer, Eartha White’s biographer, she used most of these profits to finance her humanitarian works and, consequently, struggled financially throughout her life. Her work and influence also extended to political activities. In 1941, she joined with A. Philip Randolph to protest job discrimination. Particularly in her later years, she became an influential force who was often consulted by Jacksonville politicians on diverse issues, and whose social welfare requests were routinely granted.
Eartha White’s enduring legacy is her social welfare work and zeal for helping the underprivileged. She established an orphanage for African American children, a home for unwed mothers, a nursery for working mothers, and a nursing home, among many other projects. Her development of the Clara White Mission encapsulates her commitment to humanity. The Mission began in the 1880’s under the informal tutelage of Clara White and primarily consisted of a soup kitchen to feed the needy. In 1932, during the Great Depression, Eartha White recognized the need for a larger facility to feed, shelter, and counsel the homeless. With the help of friends, she moved the mission into its present building on Ashley Street in Downtown Jacksonville. In 1944, a fire destroyed much of the building but, with her customary resolve, Eartha White raised the funding to rebuild and even expand the original structure.
She was honored many times for her leadership and service to educational institutions, civic clubs, government agencies, business groups and fraternal organizations for her tireless service and good deeds and was nicknamed by those that knew her as “The Angel of Mercy.” Eartha White died of heart failure at age ninety-seven on January 18, 1974.
Content provided courtesy of Ju’Coby Pittman, CEO and President, Clara White Mission
