Creative Outlets Exhibition: Advocacy - John White

One of Central Piedmont’s most famous alumni is photographer John White. He graduated from Central Piedmont in 1966 with an applied sciences degree and a focus in art-photography. Throughout his career, John White went on to receive numerous awards, including the Pulitzer Prize in 1982 for his work as a photographer at the Chicago Daily News, which documented life of African-American communities in Chicago’s Southside neighborhood. John White was the first (and perhaps the only) community college graduate in history to win a Pulitzer Prize.

To celebrate this momentous achievement, Central Piedmont invited John White to the campus, where he was honored with the Richard Hagemeyer Educational Advancement Award and Mayor John Belk declared June 11, 1982 as “John White Day.”

1. A studio portrait taken by the CPCC Media Production Department of John White holding his camera.
2. A handwritten document with details about the ceremony honoring John White.
3. A North Carolina National Bank invitation to the reception honoring John White.
4. The itinerary for the Hagemeyer Award Ceremony held on June 11, 1982.
5. John White standing beside CPCC’s “Meet John White” sign.
6. John White and his son.
7. John White and his family at the ceremony.
8. John White and Mike Myers at an event honoring Mr. White and his family, where Mr. Myers presented him with the Hagemeyer Award.
9. A personal message from John White to E. Fay Foster written on the title page of The Final Journey of Joseph Cardinal Bernardin (1997).
10. A photo of John White with Joseph Cardinal Bernardin in The Final Journey of Joseph Cardinal Bernardin (1997).