Portrait from Autobiography of Dr. William Henry Johnson. Albany, NY: Argus Company, 1900.
Jacob C. White, Jr. (1837-1902) grew up in an elite black Philadelphia family. His parents were active in the Underground Railroad and helped found vigilant societies to assist fugitive slaves. White attended the Institute for Colored Youth and was a member of the Banneker Institute, a debating society for black men, before pursuing a career as an educator.
When White arrived at the Syracuse convention, he had recently been appointed head of Roberts Vaux Primary School, making him the first black principal of a Philadelphia public school. Although White did not serve on any committees at the Syracuse convention, his standing within the local black community led to his election as secretary of the Pennsylvania Equal Rights League in 1865. After the 1871 murder of his friend Octavius Catto, White became less active in civil rights organizations but continued to devote his energies to protecting educational opportunities for African Americans in Philadelphia.