White, Thomas J. (Thomas Jackson), 1903-1991

Thomas Jackson White was a state representative and senator for Kinston, N.C., in the 1950s and 1960s, serving as chair of the Senate Finance Committee and the Advisory Budget Commission in the 1960s.

From the description of Thomas J. White papers, 1933-1977 [manuscript]. WorldCat record id: 25723841

Thomas Jackson White, Jr., was born in Concord, North Carolina, 6 March 1903. Upon graduation from Concord High School in 1920, White attended North Carolina State College for two years, but left and entered the University of North Carolina School of Law in 1924. Earning his degree in 1927, White subsequently practiced law in Durham before opening a practice in Kinston, North Carolina, in 1938. He served as Lenoir County Attorney from 1938 to 1964.

After an unsuccessful campaign for a General Assembly seat in 1944, White served as a member of the Wildlife Resources Commission from 1947 to 1949. In 1953, White made a successful bid for the General Assembly, and served as representative from Lenoir County in the 1953, 1955, and 1957 regular sessions and the extra session of 1956. He later ran for the State Senate, and served in the 1961, 1963, 1965, and 1967 regular sessions and the extra sessions of 1963, 1965, and 1966. White was a powerful figure in state government, serving in 1961 as chairman of the Senate Finance Committee and, in 1963, 1965, and 1967, as chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee. He also served on the Advisory Budget Commission from 1961 to 1973 (ten of those years as chairman), and headed the legislative building and art museum building commissions.

White's tenure in the State Legislature was often stormy. During the 1956 extra session, he advocated interposition as the best method of meeting the Supreme Court's Brown vs. Board of Education decision, rather than the Pearsall Plan (tuition grants to parents who chose not to send their children to integrated schools), which was backed by Governor Luther Hodges and a majority of the State Legislature. White also opposed the use of radar ( whammies ) to catch speeding motorists, but was a proponent of drivers' education legislation. The senator also had an often fiery relationship with the press, resulting in prolific editorial coverage of White's activities. White retired from the State Senate in 1968.

During the 1969 regular session, White served as legislative counsel to Governor Robert Scott. Later, he served as a lobbyist for the Richmond-based Tobacco Tax Council, which fought against the taxation of tobacco products.

From the guide to the Thomas J. White Papers, ., 1933-1977, (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection.)