Skip to main content
NC DNCR logo NC DNCR

Topical Navigation

  • Home
  • Places to Go
  • Things to Do
    Things to Do
    • Field Trips, Group Visits & CAVS
    • Archives
    • Aquariums
    • Libraries
    • Museums
    • State Parks
    • State Historic Sites
    • North Carolina Symphony
    • Zoo
    • Events and Programs
    • Trips/Travel Ideas
    • Sightseeing Tours in North Carolina
    • African American Experience
    • America 250 NC
  • Things to Know
    Things to Know
    • Artist Opportunities
    • Traveling Exhibits
    • Conservation Assistance
    • Digital Collections & Online Exhibits
    • Family History & Genealogy
    • Mapping Resources
    • Publications
    • Records Management
    • Search Our Collections
    • American Indian Programs and Resources
    • Blogs
    • Grants Opportunities
    • Moonshine and Motorsports Trail
    • NCCulture Kids Videos
    • Podcasts
    • Advisory Council on Film, Television, and Digital Streaming
  • News
    News
    • Contacts for the Press
    • Press Releases
    • DNCR Marketing & Communications Team
    • Legislative Reports
  • About
    About
    • Arts
    • History
    • Libraries
    • Nature
    • Support Us
    • Employment
    • Special Programs
    • DNCR Strategic Plan 2021 - 2023
    • Diversity, Equity, Accessibility, and Inclusion
    • Featured Programs
    • Leadership
  • NCLearn
  • Contact Us
  • NC.GOV
  • AGENCIES
  • JOBS
  • SERVICES
NC DNCR »   Home »   blog

George H. White Delivers “Phoenix” Address

January 29, 2016

An image of George H. White from LearnNC

An image of George H. White from LearnNC

On January 29, 1901, North Carolina Congressman George H. White delivered his now-famous farewell address.

White was the fourth of four African Americans to represent North Carolina’s Second District in the United States Congress in the late nineteenth century. He obtained a law license in 1879 and served in the North Carolina House of Representatives and the Senate before being elected to the first of two four-year terms as district solicitor for the Second Judicial District.

White moved to Tarboro to run for office in what was known as the “Black Second” Congressional District. Elected in 1896 and 1898, he was the only black representative in Congress at the time. He was attentive to local issues and appointed many blacks in his district to federal positions. After the passage of legislation disfranchising black voters, White declined nomination to a third term, saying “I can no longer live in North Carolina and be treated as a man.” In his farewell speech he stated that “Phoenix-like he (the negro) will rise up some day and come again (to Congress).”

White was the last black member of Congress for twenty-eight years, and the last black Southerner in the body until 1973. North Carolina did not see another African-American in congress until Eva Clayton and Mel Watt took their seats in 1992 and 1993, respectively.

Other related resources:

  • Celebrate Black History! from the N.C. Department of Cultural Resources
  • A Change is Gonna Come, an online exhbit from the N.C. Museum of History
  • History of African Americans in North Carolina from N.C. Historical Publications
  • The Civil Rights Movement on NCpedia
  • Images related to civil rights from the State Archives
  • Resources related to black history from the State Library

For more about North Carolina’s history, arts and culture, visit Cultural Resources online. To receive these updates automatically each day, make sure you subscribe by email using the box on the right, and follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.

This blog is related to:

  • This Day in North Carolina History

Related Articles

  • Spring 2022 Music Festival Preview
  • Celebrate Black History Month in NC
  • Tales from the Road with Doug MacMillan of The Connells
  • Music at the Museum Artist Feature: Keenan Jenkins of XOXOK
  • Artist Feature: Charles Chace of Speed Stick
  • Music at the Museum Artist Feature: Tumbao's Diego Avilez
  • Behind the Boards: Highlighting North Carolina Hip-Hop Producers
  • "Scatter and Gather" with Shay Martin Lovette
  • Music at the Museum Artist Feature: Charlie Smarts
  • Music at the Museum Artist Feature: Lakota John
  • WWNC, Citizen Vinyl, and a Building's Legacy
  • Bringing Back the Funk
  • Stray Local Explores Solitude
  • Rissi Palmer and Color Me Country Artist Fund Provides "Postcards from God"
  • Tracks Music Library Builds a Musical Ecosystem

Related Blogs

  • Selma Burke, Renowned for FDR Portrait on the Dime
  • Henry Plummer Cheatham, Educator and Advocate for Equality
  • Illinois Soldiers Overrun Thomas’s Legion, 1864
  • Upper House of Assembly Meets at the Newly-Constructed Tryon Palace
  • North Carolina Approves the 13th Amendment
  • Mel Tomlinson, Master of Ballet and Modern Dance
  • Floyd McKissick and Soul City
  • Medal of Honor Recipient Lawrence Joel
  • Palmer Graduate Cast as Lionel Jefferson
  • Francis Nash Mortally Wounded at the Battle of Germantown

Share this page:

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Email

How can we make this page better for you?

Back to top

Contact Information

North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources

109 E. Jones Street
Mail Service Center 4601

Raleigh, NC 27601
 

(919) 814-6800

Recent Tweets

Tweets by@ncculture

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Flickr
  • YouTube
  • Pinterest
  • LinkedIn
  • Medium
  • Employee Directory
  • Translation Disclaimer
  • TRAVEL POLICY
  • Accessibility
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy Policy
  • Open Budget
NC DNCR
https://www.ncdcr.gov/blog/2016/01/29/george-h-white-delivers-phoenix-address