Eartha Mary Magdalene White, a well-known African American and resident of Jacksonville, Florida, was widely known for her humanitarian and philanthropic efforts. White was born in Jacksonville, Florida on November 8, 1876. Her mother died after childbirth, so she was adopted by Lafayette and Clara English White at a young age. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay White began his education at the Stanton School in Jacksonville, now known as Stanton College Preparatory School. After graduating in 1893, she moved to New York, primarily due to the yellow fever quarantine, where she attended Madam Hall Beauty School and Madame Thurber's National Conservatory of Music. The latter affiliation landed him a position with the Oriental American Opera Company, the first African-American opera company. She sang soprano under the direction of J. Rosamond Johnson. After a very successful opening on Broadway, the troupe toured for a year throughout the United States and Europe. Returning to Florida at age twenty, White continued her education at the Florida Baptist Academy in Naples, Florida, where she earned a teaching degree in 1898. After receiving her degree, White embarked on her first business. She built the first public school for black children in Bayard, Florida. she persuaded Bartolo Genovar to donate the land and wood. She taught there for sixteen years at the Stanton School in Jacksonville. White also became a successful entrepreneur, running several businesses, including a dry goods store, a job and housekeeping bureau, a taxi company, and a steam laundry. She also became a licensed real estate broker, the first female employee of the Afro-American Life Insurance Company in Jacksonville, and a founding member of the National Negro Business League and the Jacksonville Business League. Although she is estimated to have become a millionaire, she donated much of her wealth to fund her humanitarian work. His works include: creating Oakland Park, Jacksonville's first public park for blacks, founding the Boy's Improvement Club; establishing an orphanage for African-American children, a home for single mothers, and a day care center for the children of working mothers. She also worked with inmates and founded the Colored Citizens Protective League. In 1904, Mary and her mother, Clara White, established the Clara White Mission which fed the homeless and hungry in the Jacksonville community. After her mother's death in 1920, Mary continued the work of the mission which was at one time the largest employer of blacks in Jacksonville. During World War II, White worked in the Women's National Defense Program. Keep in mind: this is just a sample. Get a personalized article from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay She also donated a building and provided American Red Cross services to enlisted men. . In 1967, at the age of ninety-one, she established a one hundred and twenty-five bed facility for welfare patients called Eartha MM White Nursing Home in Jacksonville. Among White's many honors were an honorary doctorate of laws from Edward Waters College, an honorary doctorate of humanities from the Florida Memorial Institute.