Mr. White in Washington DC.jpgGraduating-from-HS-colored.jpegYoung Willie first row lower right.jpeg
101 Year Celebration
On July 27, 2024 we continue celebrate the life of William Lorenzo White Sr. aka (Willie L.White). He has been an inspiration to many lives and we take time today for what would be his 101st Birthday. Mr. White as he was known as in business and Bill by friends and Willie by his relatives moved out of Boley, Oklahoma to Long Beach, California after both parents died at age 13. His Uncle Henry and Aunt Beulah took him and younger sister Pauline in at that time. After graduating Poly High School as the first Black student with Honors the war was just starting out in Europe and soon he was drafted to fight in WWII. If you didn’t know, but back then, there were no equal rights for “Negros” as Blacks were called. Therefore, all of the Units were segregated. Mr. White during this time was influenced about the current situation of Blacks in America so if he survived the war he wanted to become an attorney. Luckily, he was in the 777 Field Artillery Battalion which was one of the few ARMY units to not loose one man. After his war duties were over, we was able to take advantage of the GI Bill that would pay for your education. He went to U.S.C. and graduated with a Public Affairs & Political Science BA degree. He then went on to Pacific Coast University School of Law and got his JD degree and passed the BAR exam on the first try! While starting is own Law Practice in Long Beach being one of only two Black Attorneys he branched out doing various Civil Rights panels, was elected as Commissioner of Public Relations Los Angeles and even ran for Mayor of Long Beach. Of course his bread and butter was the Law that he loved and tried many famous local cases in the Southern California area. He was also admitted in 1965 to practice before the United States Supreme Court. He was proud to fight for the rights of Blacks and all other minorities during his almost 50 years of Law Practice. Attorney White also had a Practice in Beverly Hills were he had famous clients such as Sammy Davis Jr, Flip Wilson, Redd Foxx and LaWanda Page. Before his semi-retirement he helped many illegal aliens to get American Citizenship from Mexico, Central and South America. There is one story he told which was a moment he will never forget and it goes like this: Boley, Oklahoma was an all Black town that was thriving with all Black owned businesses. It was doing so good that there was even a blotched robbery from the famous Public Enemy #1 Pretty Boy Floyd Gang. This was in 1932 on Nov 23rd. Mr. White was just a young boy but a witness to this robbery attempt first hand with the audio retelling for Black History Month in 1994 linked here. You can also see here in this page.
