James Earl White (born July 16, 1964) is a former member of the

Texas House of Representatives The Texas House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Texas Legislature. It consists of 150 members who are elected from single-member districts for two-year terms. As of the 2010 United States census, each member represents abo ...

for District 19, which encompassed

Polk Polk may refer to: People * James K. Polk, 11th president of the United States * Polk (name), other people with the name Places * Polk (CTA), a train station in Chicago, Illinois * Polk, Illinois, an unincorporated community * Polk, Missou ...

, Hardin,

Jasper Jasper, an aggregate of microgranular quartz and/or cryptocrystalline chalcedony and other mineral phases,Kostov, R. I. 2010. Review on the mineralogical systematics of jasper and related rocks. – Archaeometry Workshop, 7, 3, 209-213PDF/ref> ...

, Newton, and

Tyler Tyler may refer to: People and fictional characters * Tyler (name), an English name; with lists of people with the surname or given name * Tyler, the Creator (born 1991), American rap artist and producer * John Tyler, 10th president of the United ...

counties. A member of the Republican Party, White was first elected in District 12 in 2010, which then included Angelina, San Jacinto,

Trinity The Christian doctrine of the Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the central dogma concerning the nature of God in most Christian churches, which defines one God existing in three coequal, coeternal, consubstantial divine persons: God th ...

, and Tyler counties. He left office on August 11, 2022. He resides in Hillister in Tyler County.

Background

Born and reared in

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 i ...

, Texas, White attended public school and graduated in 1982 from Lamar High School. In 1986, White procured a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University o ...

degree in

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...

and military science from the historically black Prairie View Agricultural and Mechanical University in

Prairie View, Texas Prairie View is a city in Waller County, Texas, United States, situated on the northwestern edge of the metropolitan area. The population was 8,184 at the 2020 census. Prairie View A&M University, the second oldest public university in Texas, is ...

. From 1986 until 1992, he served in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

as a commissioned officer in the

infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and mar ...

. Thereafter, he taught in the public school system in the Houston area and was a guest columnist for ''Headway Magazine''. Later, White became a teacher at

Woodville High School Woodville High School is a secondary school in Woodville, a north western suburb of Adelaide, South Australia. It was opened in 1915. The school provides music, performing and visual arts and sporting programs and has achieved success in these ...

in Woodville, the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...

of Tyler County. He also owns a

cattle Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, cloven-hooved, herbivores. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus ''Bos''. Adult females are referred to as cows and adult ma ...

ranch A ranch (from es, rancho/Mexican Spanish) is an area of land, including various structures, given primarily to ranching, the practice of raising grazing livestock such as cattle and sheep. It is a subtype of a farm. These terms are most ofte ...

. He is a member of the Hillister Baptist Church. In 2000, he obtained a

Master of Education The Master of Education (MEd or M.Ed. or Ed.M.; Latin ''Magister Educationis'' or ''Educationis Magister'') is a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. This degree in education often includes the following majors: curriculum a ...

degree from Prairie View. In 2010 and 2012, respectively, he received a

Master of Science A Master of Science ( la, Magisterii Scientiae; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree in the field of science awarded by universities in many countries or a person holding such a degree. In contrast t ...

and a

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...

from the

University of Houston The University of Houston (UH) is a public research university in Houston, Texas. Founded in 1927, UH is a member of the University of Houston System and the university in Texas with over 47,000 students. Its campus, which is primarily in s ...

. White is a member of the American Legion, the

Masonic lodge A Masonic lodge, often termed a private lodge or constituent lodge, is the basic organisational unit of Freemasonry. It is also commonly used as a term for a building in which such a unit meets. Every new lodge must be warranted or chartered ...

, the National Rifle Association, the historically black fraternity Omega Psi Phi, the

Farm Bureau The American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF), also known as Farm Bureau Insurance and Farm Bureau Inc. but more commonly just the Farm Bureau (FB), is a United States-based insurance company and lobbying group that represents the American agr ...

, and Veterans of Foreign Wars. He is a board member of the Texas Federation of Republican Outreach.

Political career

Running in House District 12 in 2010, White unseated the Democratic

incumbent The incumbent is the current holder of an office or position, usually in relation to an election. In an election for president, the incumbent is the person holding or acting in the office of president before the election, whether seeking re-ele ...

, Jim McReynolds, 20,958 (57.6 percent) to 15,405 (42.4 percent). Switched to District 19 in 2012, White unseated in the Republican primary the 10-year incumbent Mike "Tuffy" Hamilton of Lumberton in Hardin County. White polled 10,190 votes (54.5 percent) to Hamilton's 8,503 (45.5 percent). White then ran without Democratic opposition in the general election held on November 6, 2012. In 2013, White voted against a bill to allow certain minors to consent to receiving immunizations (the bill passed the House 71–61). In August 2021, amid the

COVID-19 pandemic in Texas The COVID-19 pandemic in Texas is a part of the ongoing viral pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), a novel infectious disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The state of Texas confirmed its ...

, White spoke at an anti-vaccine mandate rally at the

Texas State Capitol The Texas State Capitol is the capitol and seat of government of the American state of Texas. Located in downtown Austin, Texas, the structure houses the offices and chambers of the Texas Legislature and of the Governor of Texas. Designed in 1881 ...

. The next month, White filed a bill to ban government entities from requiring private businesses to require vaccinations, and barring businesses which require employees to provide proof of vaccination from receiving state grants or contracts. In 2017 and 2019, amid a national and statewide debate over the

removal of Confederate monuments and memorials More than 100 monuments and memorials to the Confederate States of America (CSA; the Confederacy) and associated figures have been removed, all but five since 2015. Some have been removed by state and local governments; others have been torn do ...

, White introduced bills that would restrict the removal of historical public monuments and memorials (including, but not limited to, Confederate monuments).Sig Christenson

'' San Antonio Express-News'', April 1, 2017, p. 3.Alex Samuels
Texas legislation aimed at protecting monuments of all kinds sparks heated debate over Confederate markers
''Texas Tribune'' (April 10, 2019). White's 2017 bill called upon the Legislature, State Preservation Board, or

Texas Historical Commission The Texas Historical Commission is an agency dedicated to historic preservation within the state of Texas. It administers the National Register of Historic Places for sites in Texas. The commission also identifies Recorded Texas Historic L ...

to find another "prominent location" whenever any monument on state property "for military, war-related or other historical service" was moved, and would have established fines and jail time for violators. White's 2019 bill would ban monuments erected more than 40 years ago from being "altered, moved, relocated, renamed or destroyed" and would ban the alteration, relocation, or destruction on monuments between 20–40 years unless a local referendum or a state Legislature vote to do so passed. In the general election held on November 6, 2018, White overwhelmed his Democratic opponent, Sherry Williams, 49,926 (83.2 percent) to 10,070 (16.8 percent). White was the sole

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ensl ...

Republican in the Texas Legislature. ''

Texas Monthly ''Texas Monthly'' (stylized as ''TexasMonthly'') is a monthly American magazine headquartered in Downtown Austin, Texas. ''Texas Monthly'' was founded in 1973 by Michael R. Levy and has been published by Emmis Publishing, L.P. since 1998 and is ...

'' described him in 2019 as "rock-ribbed conservative in good standing with the right" who is also a leading advocate of

criminal justice reform Criminal justice reform addresses structural issues in criminal justice systems such as racial profiling, police brutality, overcriminalization, mass incarceration, and recidivism. Criminal justice reform can take place at any point where the cr ...

within the Texas Republican Party. White introduced legislation to update the Sandra Bland Act (a state law named after

Sandra Bland Sandra Annette Bland was a 28-year-old African-American woman who was found hanged in a jail cell in Waller County, Texas, on , 2015, three days after being arrested during a traffic stop. Her death was ruled a suicide. It was followed by protes ...

, who died in a Texas jail shortly after being arrested at a traffic stop) by limiting arrests for minor misdemeanors; the measure did not pass. In June 2021, White announced that he would not seek re-election to the Texas House in 2022, and announced that he was running for Agriculture Commissioner instead, challenging incumbent Republican Sid Miller in the Republican primary. On October 19, 2021, White expressed his opinion about

same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being Mexico, constituting ...

in a letter to Texas Attorney General

Ken Paxton Warren Kenneth Paxton Jr. (born December 23, 1962) is an American lawyer and politician who has served as the Attorney General of Texas since January 2015. Paxton has described himself as a Tea Party conservative. Paxton was re-elected to a t ...

. White noted that Texas laws "continue to define marriage as the union between one man and one woman" even after the U.S. Supreme Court decisions of ''

Obergefell v. Hodges ''Obergefell v. Hodges'', ( ), is a landmark LGBT rights case in which the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that the fundamental right to marry is guaranteed to same-sex couples by both the Due Process Clause and the Equal Protect ...

'' and '' De Leon v. Perry''. He also expressed his opinion that, while federal court decisions prohibit "state officials" from enforcing these state laws, nothing prohibits "private citizens" from declining "to recognize homosexual marriages." In his letter, he requested that Paxton affirm this principle. On August 11, 2022, White resigned from his seat in the Texas House to take the position as executive director of the Texas Funeral Services Commission. His departure left no Black Republicans in the Texas House.

References

External links

State legislative page

James White at the Texas Tribune
, - {{DEFAULTSORT:White, James (Texas politician) 1964 births 21st-century American politicians African-American farmers African-American state legislators in Texas Baptists from Texas Educators from Texas Farmers from Texas Lamar High School (Houston, Texas) alumni Living people Republican Party members of the Texas House of Representatives People from Tyler County, Texas Politicians from Houston Prairie View A&M University alumni Ranchers from Texas United States Army officers University of Houston alumni 21st-century African-American politicians 20th-century African-American people Military personnel from Texas Black conservatism in the United States