George Henry White was born in 1852 in Rosindale, NC in what is currently Bladen and Columbus counties.  From humble roots, he made his way to elected office as a state delegate, a public prosecutor, and finally, the congressional representative from the second district, from 1897 to 1901.  As the sole African American congressman, he sought to honor black soldiers, to grant voting rights for indigenous peoples and protect voting rights for black Americans, and to make mob violence and lynching a federal crime. 

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When many of his constituents lost their franchise in 1900, he decided to leave politics and devote his life to economic empowerment as a path to freedom.  He founded a bank, law firm, and later a land development company that formed the historic black township of Whitesboro, New Jersey.  

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The George Henry White Memorial Health & Education Center has been created as a living tribute to his legacy of self-reliance, lifelong learning, and service to others.  It is a project of the Benjamin and Edith Spaulding Descendants' Foundation (a tax-exempt nonprofit formed for educational, historical and humanitarian purposes).  

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