Community activist profile: Dr. David White

David White has called the West Grove his home since 1931.

Over the years, the former school teacher and administrator has spent most of his time in the church and in his community working with organizations such as the Homeowners and Tenants Association, where he served as president eight years ago.

Neighbors and family members say the 78-year-old is someone you call a true community activist.

“He has a very keen passion for home ownership and for the Grove,” said  Rick Holton, White’s cousin and a retired lieutenant with Miami-Dade County Police.

“He doesn’t just stand out, he stands way out because his sense of understanding about where Coconut Grove came from and where it’s going is always right on target,” said Holton, who also is a professor at St. Thomas University.

“He’s the kind of person to keep everyone involved,” Holton said, adding that even though White is in failing health, he continues to be an inspiration, sending regular emails to community members filled with informative updates as well as motivational messages.

White spent his time with the homeowners association and the American Legion Community Club trying to revitalize the West Grove, an area he says has been in a downward spiral since the infiltration of drugs in the ‘60s.

“They need to invest some money into the community and rebuild. It’s gone from an affluent community to almost a desperate community. Things have changed drastically. It’s almost like a ghost town,” said White, who remembers when employment was high and mom-and-pop stores such as the Coconut Grove Market lined the streets.

Raised with four brothers and a sister in a house on Marler Avenue, White said the West Grove was a tight-knit community he remembers fondly. But he remembers the tough as well as the good years.

“When I was a little boy, the KKK came through here and tried to do everything to destroy our community, some how we survived and we are still here today,” White said.

“We didn’t have many differences because everybody was poor; very few had automobiles,” he said. “Many rode bicycles to work, and buses came in to pick up the women and take them to Coral Gables where they served as maids and men worked on the estates.”

But not having much did not stop anyone in this community from giving to someone who was hungry, he said.

“We were all poor but no one would ever go hungry because you could knock on anybody’s door and they would find something to give. That’s the type of community this was,” said White.

White only left the neighborhood to attend Florida A&M University where he completed his undergraduate and graduate studies, including a doctorate’s degree, and joined the Omega Psi Phi fraternity.

When he returned, he began teaching at Dorsey Senior High and became an administrator at Carol City Senior High, Brownsville Middle and South Miami Senior High, among other schools.

His wife, Tessie White, also worked with the school system, as a teacher for 30 years.

“He was always involved with children,” said Thelma Gibson, who grew up two blocks south of the White family.

“David is an affable young man who loves his neighbors and the community,” said Gibson, who is five years his senior.

They both have attended Christ Episcopal Church, where David White has served as head of the Men’s Club and president of the Ushers Guild. He also has been involved in numerous fundraisers.

She said he was active in the church from a young age.

Back then, David White went by the nickname “Fonso,” short for his middle name, Alfonso.

Although recent knee surgeries have slowed him down, “he still keeps going,” Gibson said.

“I can’t do what I used to do,” he said. “But I’m still very involved at the church.”

— Jessica Cortada also contributed to this report.