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Bayou Icon | Dr. Liz White

By Nathan Coker
In Bayou Icon
Jan 30th, 2025
0 Comments
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article by Georgiann Potts
photography by Kelly Moore Clark

Whether finding ways to make life a little better for nursing home residents, helping children learn the joy of reading, or promoting economic development and assisting organizations in creating jobs – Dr. White has always been counted on to help. 

When Dr. Liz White taught her first class (as a student-teacher) at Webster High School in Minden, Louisiana, she admits that she was uneasy and somewhat insecure. Even so, she was well-prepared and went on to have an outstanding 34-year career in education. That career was marked by a number of milestones, including her becoming the first African American to join the faculty at Louisiana Tech University. While there, Dr. White developed and taught the first course in African American literature and became the first African American to be promoted to full professor there. She also found time to be an active volunteer for a wide variety of groups encompassing every age group. Because of her remarkable ability to teach others the value of education and volunteerism both inside and outside of the classroom, Dr. Liz White is our February 2025 Bayou Icon

Dr. Liz White readily admits that she has always loved learning. One of her earliest memories is from a time before she learned to read. Her mother and sister would read to her at night, using a kerosene lamp for light. “It was mesmerizing to hear them bring those mysterious stories to life from the pages,” Liz says. “I couldn’t figure out how they did it, but I wanted very badly to be able to do it, too!”

Liz credits her mother, Oneda Wyatt Barnes, with being her first teacher – instrumental in teaching her basics like counting, reciting the alphabet, and reading from a small school primer.

After she learned to read for herself, Liz has never stopped. Her love of learning — accompanied with an insatiable curiosity and lots of energy – means that she has never quit accepting new challenges nor seeking new ways of doing things. Today, at 81, she is still seeking new things to learn and searching for new ways to be a help to her community.  

Growing Up in Pleasant Grove, LA
Located seven miles southwest of Jonesboro in rural Louisiana, the small community Pleasant Grove was the center of Liz’s childhood. She lived there until she was 17 when she married her high school sweetheart. Liz was the fifth child of 10 children born to Edd and Oneda Barnes. There were five boys and five girls in the close-knit family. Edd had completed third grade; Oneda had completed eighth grade. Both were determined to give their children the best lives possible growing up.

The family’s home had 4 bedrooms (one for the boys, one for the girls, one for their parents, and one for “company”) plus a spacious kitchen that featured a large potbelly wood-burning stove. The boys and parents also had wood-burning heaters in their bedrooms. There was no indoor plumbing or electric lights, but the family was cozy nonetheless. “We learned to work together and share with one another,” Liz remembers. The family lived the home until the late 1950’s when it burned. They moved to another house for six months while their home was being rebuilt.

Liz describes her childhood as a mixture of school, nature, and chores. She walked nearly four miles during the week to a little two-room schoolhouse for elementary school. Her afternoons were spent picking berries, plums, muscadines, and climbing trees. She loved romping through the woods and doing other “boyish” things with her brothers – actions that earned her the reputation of being a tomboy. During the winter Liz loved bird watching near a window and trapping birds under a deadfall trap that her brother had built for her and set up outside. 

The family walked together to church every Sunday. The church shared the campus with the school. In later years after Edd went into the pulpwood business, the family rode on the bed of the pulpwood truck. A special childhood memory of Liz’s was waiting for and then seeing her father turn into the driveway after a long day’s work.

Chores for Liz included sweeping floors, sweeping the yard, picking cotton, gathering potatoes, helping herd cattle, and feeding the chickens. In her leisure time, Liz enjoyed fixing up her playhouse, and playing hopscotch, jump rope, and hide-and-seek.

Before the family went to bed each night, they would all gather around the heater in their parents’ bedroom listening to them tell stories about their own childhoods. When mealtime came, they all – except for Oneda – would sit together at the large dinner table. “My mother stayed on her feet, serving everyone. Sometimes she was eating standing up, positioned to serve whoever needed her assistance,” Liz remembers with a smile.

In such a large, close family circle, it was Edd who was Liz’s favorite. She credits her mother with portraying Edd as the king of the family. Oneda made certain that the children recognized their father as a parent who was “. . . to be feared in love, respected as the household leader, and looked up to as the bread-winner for the family.” Liz noticed when she was growing up the way her father also found time to help two other families – his widowed mother after his father passed away and his divorced sister who was rearing four children alone. “Seeing my dad share his time and resources with them not only made me jealous, but also deepened my respect and admiration for him as a father and as a man,” Liz admits.

Marrying Mr. White
When Liz was 17, she married her high school sweetheart, Charlie L. White. Together they had two sons, Don Jose’ and Adrian Todd. Charlie was a good husband and father, and a good provider for his family. “He taught our boys many skills, including hunting, fishing, driving, and cutting pulpwood,” Liz remembers. 

Charlie took care of their sons while Liz was in Natchitoches working on her master’s degree. “He provided genuine support throughout my undergraduate, master’s and doctoral degrees,” Liz adds. “He was a good husband, but unfortunately our marriage just fell apart.” The two divorced in 1992 after 31 years when their sons were both grown and married.

Even after Charlie’s death in 2021, Liz continues to speak warmly about him. She admired him for his civic-mindedness and work in the civil rights movement in Jonesboro. “Charlie was the first African American to enter the Jackson Parish Library, sit down, and receive a library card,” Liz remembers. “He was one of the historic Deacons for Defense and Justice that was founded in Jonesboro and spread throughout the nation. He also broke barriers by becoming the first African American to get a white-collar job at Stone Container paper mill in Hodge, Louisiana.”

Stenographer, or Teacher?
Liz’s first career focus came in the 7th grade when she learned a new word: stenographer. “The very word fascinated me, so I adopted it as my answer when I was asked what I wanted to be when I grew up,” Liz says with a chuckle. Later when she entered high school, Liz’s ambition became more sharply focused.

Liz’s cousin, Aleane Barnes Hayes, was one of two significant influencers who turned her career dream toward teaching. Aleane was an exceptional teacher, working with the young people in Sunday School and Baptist Training Union (BTU). She had excelled in school and graduated as valedictorian of her class. “She helped us to learn poems by memory, to speak with clarity and power, and to do everything correctly,” Liz says. “Aleane was my role model. I aspired to be like her. When she went to Grambling State University and majored in English, I decided to follow in her footsteps.”

The other influencer was Liz’s high school English teacher, Ruth Bonner, who also was the school librarian. “Mrs. Bonner took a keen interest in me as a student and respected my abilities as a reader and writer,” Liz says. “She often assigned me to work with other students in the class, helping them with writing, reading, and grammar. She also chose me to assist with shelving books and other library tasks. I could tell that she thought that I was special.”

Liz credits both of these ladies with helping guide her toward what would become an exceptional career. “I am so grateful for these two ladies in shaping my career and, ultimately, my life,” Liz says.

To accomplish her goals, Liz earned a bachelors’ degree in English Education from Grambling State University in 1966. Her minor was in social studies and she also earned certification in library science. She began her career teaching English at Pinecrest High School (an all-black school) in Winnfield. 

Two years later, Liz was one of the first three black teachers transferred to the all-white Winnfield Senior High School (WHS) as part of a federal mandate to integrate schools nationwide. At WHS she taught 9th grade English, 10th grade government, and spent the other hours assisting in the library.

In 1973 Liz earned her MA degree in English from Northwestern State University. While at Northwestern, Liz was a graduate assistant and taught college freshmen. When she returned to WHS to resume teaching there, she was dismayed to find that she had been assigned to teach Vocational English. Liz was disappointed, and determined not to resume her position at WHS after working so hard to earn the graduate degree. She called the English Department at Louisiana Tech and spoke with Mr. Robert Snyder, department head there. They spoke briefly and he invited her to come for an interview. Liz went, and got the job.

27 Years at Louisiana Tech University
LA Tech was the perfect fit for Liz, and Liz was the perfect fit for LA Tech. She accomplished many things there before retiring in 2000. The first one – becoming the first African American to join the English faculty – Liz didn’t even realize at the time she accepted the position. When she did realize it, the feat became a highlight for her illustrious career. Liz says that after teaching one quarter at LA Tech, she was confident that this was the right career move for her.

While on faculty at LA Tech, Liz distinguished herself among her colleagues. She was elected editor of the Louisiana Association for College Composition which allowed her to connect with English faculties from universities across Louisiana. “As editor, my proudest accomplishment was publishing the organization’s 8-page quarterly newsletter for eight consecutive years, which honed my research and writing skills and fostered collaboration with colleagues statewide” says Liz.

A major gift that Liz left for LA Tech was a new course, African American Literature. She developed the course – a first at LA Tech – and then taught it until her retirement in 2000. “This course introduced a new literary discipline to the university, offering students additional options and broadening their knowledge, understanding, and perspective into other histories, literature, and culture,” Liz explains.

Throughout her career, Liz has observed changes in her students. By the time she retired, information transfer from technological innovations had influenced every aspect of the profession. As a result, the students in the last part of her career were more knowledgeable compared to those at the beginning. She noticed something else: her early students were more respectful of teachers and more receptive to instruction than the later ones. Liz adapted to the changing environments with her go-to formula – creating a solid workable lesson plan.

Life After Retirement
Those who knew Liz as a teacher will not be surprised to learn that she didn’t stop living a full, rewarding life post-retirement. One of the most consequential appointments that Liz enjoyed was as a member of the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities Board of Directors from 2002-2005.

Liz’s time with LEH gave her a new teaching opportunity that her high school and university teaching had not. For the first time, she was able to work with elementary school children and their caregivers. “Working with the LEH provided me the opportunity to participate in the Prime-Time Reading Program, a distinctive initiative for enriching family literacy,” Liz explains. “This experience was particularly special to me, as it brought together caregivers and their six-to ten-year-old children to explore great books and big ideas through reading and discussion.”  

In addition to her work with the LEH, well over a dozen organizations have also been blessed by Liz’s volunteer spirit – and active presence. Among the organizations with which Liz has volunteered (and accepted leadership positions in) are the Mt. Pleasant Community Development Corporation Board, the Louisiana Tourist Development Commission Board, the Jackson Parish Library Board of Control, the Jackson High School National Alumni Association, the Grambling Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., the Ruston Branch of the NAACP, the Ruston Chapter of Grambling University National Alumni Association, and the Lincoln Parish Retired Educators.                

“Volunteering in the community is extremely important, benefiting both the individual and the community,” Liz believes. “It provides an opportunity for people to work together for a common purpose. It’s both a learning and a growing experience for all those involved. It’s a beautiful way for people of different interests and backgrounds to come together in harmonious interaction.” 

Liz also finds time to play. She loves water aerobics, and looks forward to fishing trips with her cousin (“who knows all the tricks”). Liz’s youngest granddaughter is to be married in Rome later this year, and Liz would love to travel there – not only for the wedding, but also to explore the Eternal City. One thing that she has not found time to do – yet – is to learn a second language, something she promised herself that she would do when she retired. While she still wants to master Spanish, her other activities simply don’t leave her enough time.

Dr. White’s Thoughts on a Teaching Career
Not surprisingly, Liz is still a teacher at heart, and remains a tremendous advocate for that profession. When asked recently what she would say if a young person approached her and asked if he or she should consider teaching as a career, this was Liz’s response: “I would say if you want a guarantee that you’re making a positive difference in the world, become a teacher! Imagine waking up every morning knowing that you’re shaping the minds and hearts of the future. Playing a central role in your students’ growth, learning, and maturity can bring a deep sense of fulfillment and pride. Furthermore, the connections you form with students, parents, colleagues, and community partners create a supportive network that enriches your own life both personally and professionally. Being a teacher provides lifelong relationships with students, parents, colleagues, and community partners. If you desire a life with purpose and impact, there’s no better choice than becoming a teacher.”

Countless individuals – whether students or not — have benefited both from Dr. Liz White’s exceptional teaching ability and her commitment to her profession and to her community. Her positive influence will be felt long beyond her life.