Whiting taught school until she married in 1941. She served on the Metropolitan Council of the Houston
YWCA, and the Houston Association for Better Schools. In 1958, White was elected to the Houston Independent School District (HISD) board, as its first Black member, and as the city's first Black elected official since
Reconstruction. Despite controversy and violent racist threats, White was outspoken in favor of
school desegregation and federal funding programs, and was re-elected in 1961 and 1964. She was defeated for re-election in 1967, and in a run for the Texas legislature in 1968. White returned to schoolwork after her political career, and retired from teaching in 1986. White was honored with the Houston YWCA's Lifetime Achievement Award. == Personal life ==