'You can be something': The life, legacy of Penny White

Justice through harmony and peace. Penny White, a woman of many roles, is proof hard work pays off. Born and raised in Kingsport, White had the typical middle-to-lower-class childhood with two working parents whom neither obtained higher education yet, both brilliant she said. Her successes in life started early going back to the first grade when she was named valedictorian of her class. "In elementary school, I was really something," she said. White and her parents moved to a different neighborhood before she began eighth grade. She said this change was hard and it affected her. Like most teenagers, she thought her life would end not being able to fit into a new school. "There was a teacher at Colonial Heights Junior High whose name was Roger Heron," she said. "And he, (for) whatever reason, saw something in me." Heron encouraged her, along with three other girls, to run for student council. "We lost to three boys," she said. "Fast forward four years to high school, the three of us ran against the same three boys and we won." Through her teacher Heron she was able to learn, "you can't be what you used to be, but maybe you can be something," she said. From there White attended East Tennessee State University as a first-generation student on a full ride where she became the president of the student government association. At that time, ETSU was ran by the Greek life communities she said. "We were trying to reach out to the non-Greek communities," she recalls. "To all the students to make them feel apart of things." White took her role at ETSU seriously working with professionalism, respect and inclusivity setting the blueprint for her career as a lawyer, judge, supreme court justice and now a professor. She said communication — both written and oral — determination and hard work are three skill sets which are important to everything she has done in her life. She obtained her law degree in 1987 at Georgetown University Law Center where only 67 out of 190 students were women. White moved back to the Tri Cities to begin practicing law but found it was more difficult than she thought. She practiced law for 10 years in Johnson City where she fought for the justice of her clients. "I never made much money because I had a hard time saying no," she said. "It's the most important thing for every single individual to feel that they can get a fair hearing or a fair chance at life." She said every individual has a different definition of justice. To her, it means fairness in accordance with the law but for that to be true the law must be fair. "A world that is just is a world in which people are treated the same based upon standards that are not bigoted or prejudice but are developed fairly and that in turn creates respect for the system," she said. She said a justice system perceived as illegitimate, biased or unequal can't be respected "and if there is no respect for the justice system or the rule of law, as we call it, then there's little reason to expect peace." "I guess it all comes down to a society where the treatment of individuals has generated respect and we can all live in harmony and peace," she said. White has served as a judge at every level of the court system in Tennessee with firsthand experience at the challenges being faced. She served as the first woman circuit judge in the First Judicial District and the second woman to serve on the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals and the Tennessee Supreme Court. On a day-to-day basis, the biggest challenge she identified was access to legal counsel. The cost of legal counsel has skyrocketed over the years and for individuals who can't afford it and are not provided a public defender, they are left representing themselves which creates issues for the court. White's time as a justice on the Tennessee Supreme Court was short lived yet, she has no regrets. White lost in a retention election in 1996 — two years after her appointment — due to a highly publicized death penalty case in which she voted with the majority against the sentencing due to lack of evidence. "Being on the Supreme Court … was something I never imagined in my wildest dreams could happen to me ever," she said. "And so that's why the fall was so hard and so difficult." Despite her time as a justice ending, it opened a door for her in the teaching realm. "I've taught something ethics, evidence or capital punishment in 36 out of the 50 states," she said. "So, what it did is it made me more keenly aware of the challenges that judges face and made me a better teacher — both for lawyers and judges." Her experiences with the court allowed her to grow and learn from the challenges but she said it was still hard to deal with the outcome. Today White is married to her husband, has four grandchildren and is consistently giving speeches and teaching students across the country. "My life is so richer, but it was hard as hell to get over," she emphasized.