Introduction to Eartha M. M. White's Real Estate Background

Eartha M. M. White was a woman of many hats—seen in how she has worked in a variety of jobs, all related to the community of some sort. Of the many jobs she has held, one that significantly impacts her other businesses would be her real estate agency, where she dealt with a variety of properties which in of itself is something that pushed against the grain of what women were able to do at the time. After all, it was not until 1848 when New York passed the “Married Women’s Property Act” to allow married women to own property and the rest of the 19th century to get other states to follow New York’s lead. Additionally, the Fair Housing Act was passed in 1968 which made it illegal to discriminate housing transactions based on a person’s demographics. Knowing the background to when women were officially allowed to own and sell property makes White more outstanding because she got her real estate broker license in 1926-1927, long before most of the related laws passed. This makes you consider just how extraordinary of a person she was during this time period. 

White also used her realtor and insurance company to raise money for her outreach programs, including the Clara White Mission, Colored Old Folks Home, Boy’s Improvement Club, and various hospitals, orphanages, public parks, all to help the betterment of the community (U.S. Census Bureau, Eartha Mary Magdalene White). As such, it is important to realize how pivotal her businesses were to advancing the role of African Americans—far past what they were able to do. Miss White has shown that it is possible to be both resourceful and compassionate, and although it does not sound like it, we can see this through her real estate endeavors, the effect at which her institutions has had on the community, and what her legacy left behind.