Philip L. White
Encyclopedia
Philip Lloyd "Phil" White (July 31, 1923 - October 15, 2009) was an American history academic and civil community organizer. A tenured professor of early American history at the University of Texas at Austin
(UT Austin) from the 1960s through 2000, White is acknowledged by many citizens of Austin, Texas
, to have been a primary architect of "the Democratic grass-roots political activism that transformed Austin politics in the late 1960s and early 1970s".
) branch of Americans for Democratic Action
, while earning a PhD
in colonial American history at Columbia University
under the supervision of Alan Nevins. White essentially brought neighborhood civic groups to the American South.
), from being "a Confederate
capital into being something more progressive." Between 1968-71, Prof. White founded the Tarrytown Democrats and the West Austin Democrats and served as Faculty Advisor to the UT Young Democrats. During this period, he also served on the Travis County Democratic Executive Committee and chaired the UT Department of History during the summer months. He was thus in a rare position to oversee both the nascent neighborhood groups and the new student movements that were then forming in the wake of widespread Civil Rights and Vietnam War
protests. Even before the adoption of the 26th Amendment
in 1971, a "first-ever political coalition" in Austin had been formed, joining "white liberals, minorities and students who had not been politically active before" in an amalgamation that opened up the city's formerly elitist politics.
Peck Young, who became director of the Center for Public Policy & Political Studies at Austin Community College, stated that White provided vital support within the university for his group's registration of more than 40,000 new student voters in central Austin from 1971-72 (in a city of then only approximately 250,000 people, and less than 100,000 regular voters). From approximately 1970-75, local school board, city council, judicial, and state legislature offices changed, until nearly all elected offices in Travis County were in the hands of the new coalition, and other Texans started to refer to the state capital as "the People's Republic of Austin". In addition to Mr. Young, Prof. White advised a generation of Texas liberals hailing from UT Austin circa 1970, including Gonzalo Barrientos
, Sarah Weddington
, Ronnie Earle
, Bruce Elfant, Larry Bales, and (future US Congressman) Lloyd Doggett
.
. In 1975 White and a number of other politically-active UT Austin professors "sued the university and President Lorene Rogers
, alleging they were denied full salary increases for which they had been recommended in 1975 in retaliation for their political activities", according to White's then-attorney, David Richards, husband of future Texas governor Ann Richards
.
Although a Texas district court initially ruled in favor of the University, White's appeal that he had been discriminated against, in regards to First Amendment faculty rights, was approved by the US 5th Circuit Court in 1981:
Unlike most scholars of nationalism
, White chose not to view the topic through ethnic-tinted lenses, but preferred an anthropological
, long-term view of the subject: the overall history of the phenomenon of group formation (and maintenance) in our species.
Upon retiring, White founded and organized the "World 2000: Teaching World History & World Geography" conference, in conjunction with the World History Association. Keynote speakers included personal friend and former colleague William H. McNeill
, fellow Columbia alumnus Immanuel Wallerstein
, and slave-trade historian Philip D. Curtin
.
In his final decade, White often collaborated with the renowned British global historian A.G. Hopkins. White's chapter in Hopkins' edited book [Global History: Interactions Between the Universal and the Local] pointed out that, in the words of one reviewer from London
, "ethnicity has never been foundational for the development of viable states". The chapter generated high marks from others as well. Hopkins recalls when one of his former colleagues at the University of Cambridge
told him that White's essay "was read by former British Prime Minister Tony Blair
to prepare for a visit to Africa
to address the continent's problems".
University of Texas at Austin
The University of Texas at Austin is a state research university located in Austin, Texas, USA, and is the flagship institution of the The University of Texas System. Founded in 1883, its campus is located approximately from the Texas State Capitol in Austin...
(UT Austin) from the 1960s through 2000, White is acknowledged by many citizens of Austin, Texas
Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...
, to have been a primary architect of "the Democratic grass-roots political activism that transformed Austin politics in the late 1960s and early 1970s".
Early life
In New York City, White had been a community organizer with the West Side (ManhattanManhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
) branch of Americans for Democratic Action
Americans for Democratic Action
Americans for Democratic Action is an American political organization advocating progressive policies. ADA works for social and economic justice through lobbying, grassroots organizing, research and supporting progressive candidates.-History:...
, while earning a PhD
PHD
PHD may refer to:*Ph.D., a doctorate of philosophy*Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*PHD finger, a protein sequence*PHD Mountain Software, an outdoor clothing and equipment company*PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
in colonial American history at Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
under the supervision of Alan Nevins. White essentially brought neighborhood civic groups to the American South.
People's Republic
According to long-time Austin political consultant Peck Young, a former University of Texas student and White mentee circa 1968-71, Prof. White "made it possible for a lot of people to be elected and to do things to change this city" (AustinAustin
Austin is the capital of the U.S. state of Texas.Austin may also refer to:-In the United States:*Austin, Arkansas*Austin, Colorado*Austin, Chicago, Illinois*Austin, Indiana*Austin, Minnesota*Austin, Nevada*Austin, Oregon...
), from being "a Confederate
Confederate States of America
The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...
capital into being something more progressive." Between 1968-71, Prof. White founded the Tarrytown Democrats and the West Austin Democrats and served as Faculty Advisor to the UT Young Democrats. During this period, he also served on the Travis County Democratic Executive Committee and chaired the UT Department of History during the summer months. He was thus in a rare position to oversee both the nascent neighborhood groups and the new student movements that were then forming in the wake of widespread Civil Rights and Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
protests. Even before the adoption of the 26th Amendment
Twenty-sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution
The Twenty-sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution limited the minimum voting age to no more than 18. It was adopted in response to student activism against the Vietnam War and to partially overrule the Supreme Court's decision in Oregon v. Mitchell...
in 1971, a "first-ever political coalition" in Austin had been formed, joining "white liberals, minorities and students who had not been politically active before" in an amalgamation that opened up the city's formerly elitist politics.
Peck Young, who became director of the Center for Public Policy & Political Studies at Austin Community College, stated that White provided vital support within the university for his group's registration of more than 40,000 new student voters in central Austin from 1971-72 (in a city of then only approximately 250,000 people, and less than 100,000 regular voters). From approximately 1970-75, local school board, city council, judicial, and state legislature offices changed, until nearly all elected offices in Travis County were in the hands of the new coalition, and other Texans started to refer to the state capital as "the People's Republic of Austin". In addition to Mr. Young, Prof. White advised a generation of Texas liberals hailing from UT Austin circa 1970, including Gonzalo Barrientos
Gonzalo Barrientos
Gonzalo Barrientos, Jr. is a former Democratic member of the Texas Senate representing the 14th District from 1985 to 2007. He was also a member of the Texas House of Representatives from Austin from 1975 to 1985.-2002:-2000:...
, Sarah Weddington
Sarah Weddington
Sarah Ragle Weddington is an American attorney and lecturer from Texas who gained worldwide fame when she and Linda Coffee represented "Jane Roe" in the landmark Roe v. Wade case in the United States Supreme Court.-Family and education:She is the daughter of Lena Catherine and Rev...
, Ronnie Earle
Ronnie Earle
Ronald Dale "Ronnie" Earle was, until January 2009, the District Attorney for Travis County, Texas. He became nationally known for filing charges against House majority leader Tom DeLay in September 2005 for conspiring to violate Texas' election law and/or to launder money...
, Bruce Elfant, Larry Bales, and (future US Congressman) Lloyd Doggett
Lloyd Doggett
Lloyd Alton Doggett II is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 2005. He previously represented from 1995 to 2005. He is a member of the Democratic Party...
.
University pay dispute
Due to family concerns, White had largely faded out of county politics by the mid-1970s, although he continued advising student political groups and organizing the Texas Association of College Teachers (TACT). It was also during the early-to-mid-'70s that the University of Texas Board of Regents shifted from the Chairmanship of Frank Erwin to that of former Texas governor Allan ShiversAllan Shivers
Robert Allan Shivers was a Texas politician who led the conservative faction of the Texas Democratic Party during the turbulent 1940s and 1950s...
. In 1975 White and a number of other politically-active UT Austin professors "sued the university and President Lorene Rogers
Lorene Rogers
Lorene Lane Rogers was an American biochemist and educator who served as the president of the University of Texas at Austin in the 1970s, who has been described as the first woman in the United States to lead a public university.-Early life and education:Born on April 3, 1914 in Prosper, Texas as...
, alleging they were denied full salary increases for which they had been recommended in 1975 in retaliation for their political activities", according to White's then-attorney, David Richards, husband of future Texas governor Ann Richards
Ann Richards
Dorothy Ann Willis Richards was an American politician from Texas. She first came to national attention as the state treasurer of Texas, when she delivered the keynote address at the 1988 Democratic National Convention. Richards served as the 45th Governor of Texas from 1991 to 1995 and was...
.
Although a Texas district court initially ruled in favor of the University, White's appeal that he had been discriminated against, in regards to First Amendment faculty rights, was approved by the US 5th Circuit Court in 1981:
Nationality in world history
The common ground between White's scholarship on early America and his civic political activism was more fully elaborated with his founding of an upper-division course at the University of Texas in the early 1970s called "Nationality in World History." The course examined the global history of how different sovereign nations came into being throughout history. White taught this course for nearly thirty years. After withdrawing from Austin politics in the 1970s, and from university politics in the 1980s, White concentrated primarily on this course and its scholarship for the last two decades of his life. In the words of colleague Michael Hall:- "Phil devoted his last years to investigating the roots of nationalism." This research took him back into the evolution of group instincts in Homo sapiens and the burgeoning field of sociobiologySociobiologySociobiology is a field of scientific study which is based on the assumption that social behavior has resulted from evolution and attempts to explain and examine social behavior within that context. Often considered a branch of biology and sociology, it also draws from ethology, anthropology,...
. Phil plunged in relentlessly and took no easy escapes from the rigours of exacting scholarship".
Unlike most scholars of nationalism
Nationalism
Nationalism is a political ideology that involves a strong identification of a group of individuals with a political entity defined in national terms, i.e. a nation. In the 'modernist' image of the nation, it is nationalism that creates national identity. There are various definitions for what...
, White chose not to view the topic through ethnic-tinted lenses, but preferred an anthropological
Anthropology
Anthropology is the study of humanity. It has origins in the humanities, the natural sciences, and the social sciences. The term "anthropology" is from the Greek anthrōpos , "man", understood to mean mankind or humanity, and -logia , "discourse" or "study", and was first used in 1501 by German...
, long-term view of the subject: the overall history of the phenomenon of group formation (and maintenance) in our species.
Upon retiring, White founded and organized the "World 2000: Teaching World History & World Geography" conference, in conjunction with the World History Association. Keynote speakers included personal friend and former colleague William H. McNeill
William H. McNeill
William Hardy McNeill is an American world historian and author and is Professor Emeritus of History at the University of Chicago, where he has taught since 1947.-Biography:...
, fellow Columbia alumnus Immanuel Wallerstein
Immanuel Wallerstein
Immanuel Maurice Wallerstein is a US sociologist, historical social scientist, and world-systems analyst...
, and slave-trade historian Philip D. Curtin
Philip D. Curtin
Philip De Armind Curtin was a Professor Emeritus at Johns Hopkins University and historian on Africa and the Atlantic slave trade...
.
In his final decade, White often collaborated with the renowned British global historian A.G. Hopkins. White's chapter in Hopkins' edited book [Global History: Interactions Between the Universal and the Local] pointed out that, in the words of one reviewer from London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, "ethnicity has never been foundational for the development of viable states". The chapter generated high marks from others as well. Hopkins recalls when one of his former colleagues at the University of Cambridge
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
told him that White's essay "was read by former British Prime Minister Tony Blair
Tony Blair
Anthony Charles Lynton Blair is a former British Labour Party politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007. He was the Member of Parliament for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007...
to prepare for a visit to Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
to address the continent's problems".
See also
- Civic virtueCivic virtueCivic virtue is the cultivation of habits of personal living that are claimed to be important for the success of the community. The identification of the character traits that constitute civic virtue have been a major concern of political philosophy...
- Colonial history of the United States
- Student Strike of 1970Student Strike of 1970In the aftermath of the American Invasion of Cambodia on April 30, 1970, four students were killed at Kent State University on May 4, 1970 in Ohio, as well as two students at Jackson State College in Mississippi on May 14/15...
External links
- Austin-American Statesman initial death notice, Oct. 17, 2009
- West Austin Democrats
- University of Texas, History Department
- Austin Neighborhoods Council
- Center for Public Policy & Policy Studies
- The Texas Association of College Teachers
- World History Association
- "Reflections on Forty-Odd Years of Teaching History and on Training Prospective PhDs to Do So"
- Global History- Reviews
- Philip L. White- Memorial site