Eartha Mary Magdalene White was born in Jacksonville on this date. Eartha M.M. White was a humanitarian and philanthropists who dedicated her life to the betterment of the poor and needy in Florida, specifically African American communities in Jacksonville. She graduated from the Stanton School in Jacksonville and became a classically trained opera singer in New York around the turn of the century, before moving back to Florida to build the first public school for African Americans in Bayard, a small community in Duval County south of Jacksonville. She started the Clara White mission which worked to feed and serve the poor and homeless community of Jacksonville as well as the Boy’s Improvement Club, Mercy Hospital and Oakland Park and many more community organizations.