William Andrew White Jr.

Abstract

The role of the African Canadian pastor transcended the responsibilities of a religious leader of a local church to become the leader of the African Canadian community and its emissary to the larger white community. Through his exemplary Christian faith and practice, William Andrew White Jr. became a central figure in the African Canadian community. His role in African Canadian life was fluid and adaptive to the adversities of slavery, segregation, discrimination, and racism; over the years his role grew from spiritual leader providing care, self-esteem, and protection for his local church to also becoming one of polemicist, activist, and protest leader for the African Canadian community in general. Overall, this dissertation argues that the experiences gained by William Andrew White Jr. during the periods of Reconstruction and Redemption in the United States and the discrimination and racism he incurred in Canada, were foundational in shaping White’s theology. Additionally studying his influences and motivations assists in understanding White’s theology and his praxis for race relations and social justice; it is a theology that sought to foster racial harmony through black economic uplift and black socio-political engagement that laid the groundwork for the Canadian Civil Rights Movement. Ultimately, this dissertation argues that William White was a progenitor of the Canadian Civil Rights Movement and, while his national presence among the white community was not that of Martin Luther King Jr.’s, he did have a prominent presence among the black community in the Maritimes and, had he lived longer, may have become a significant national figure in Canada. Furthermore, the role he played setting the foundation for the Canadian Civil Rights Movement was similar to that of the leaders of the Civil Rights Movement in the United States.