William Andrew White, III, (February 7, 1915 – January 23, 1981) was a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

composer and

social justice Social justice is justice in terms of the distribution of wealth, Equal opportunity, opportunities, and Social privilege, privileges within a society. In Western Civilization, Western and Culture of Asia, Asian cultures, the concept of social ...

activist, who was the first Black Canadian to run for federal office in Canada.

Family and education

He was born in 1915 in

Truro, Nova Scotia Truro (Mi'kmaq: ''Wagobagitik''; Scottish Gaelic: ''Truru'') is a town in central Nova Scotia, Canada. Truro is the shire town of Colchester County and is located on the south side of the Salmon River floodplain, close to the river's mouth at ...

, the son of Baptist minister William A. White and his wife Izie Dora (White). (They were not related before marriage.) Among his twelve siblings were internationally renowned Canadian concert singer

Portia White Portia May White (June 24, 1911February 13, 1968) was a Canadian contralto, known for becoming the first Black Canadian concert singer to achieve international fame. Growing up as part of her father's church choir in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Whit ...

labour union A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits (su ...

leader and politician

Jack White John Anthony White (; born July 9, 1975), commonly known as Jack White, is an American musician, best known as the lead singer and guitarist of the duo the White Stripes. White has enjoyed consistent critical and popular success and is widely c ...

, and television performer Lorne White. Another sister married a Mr. Oliver, and they were the parents of Donald H. Oliver, the first black man to be appointed a Canadian Senator. His family moved to Halifax where his father was minister of the Church for nearly 20 years. After attending local schools, he got an education and music degree. He taught music. He was also a composer and choral group leader.

Marriage and family

Bill White and his wife Vivian had children including software designer W. Romney White, folk musician Chris White, Toronto physician Laurie White, social activist and politician Sheila White, and professional musician Tim White.

1949 federal election

White stood as the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation candidate in the

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

electoral district of Spadina in the 1949 election. He was defeated.

Order of Canada

Bill White was appointed an Officer of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the cen ...

on December 18, 1970. He was invested into the Order on March 31, 1971. The appointment was for "services to the community and his contribution to better relations and understanding between people of different racial background." Another honour he earned was the

Scarborough Scarborough or Scarboro may refer to: People * Scarborough (surname) * Earl of Scarbrough Places Australia * Scarborough, Western Australia, suburb of Perth * Scarborough, New South Wales, suburb of Wollongong * Scarborough, Queensland, su ...

Citizen of the Year in 1976.

Death

Bill White died in

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

on January 23, 1981, local time (January 23 in Toronto's

Eastern Time Zone The Eastern Time Zone (ET) is a time zone encompassing part or all of 23 states in the eastern part of the United States, parts of eastern Canada, the state of Quintana Roo in Mexico, Panama, Colombia, mainland Ecuador, Peru, and a small p ...

References