In His Own Words

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.