J. Derrell White is known to many as Officer White, the campus police officer. His role at Athens Drive is to be a resource for students and staff, as well as an assistant in fire, tornado, and lockdown drills and overall safety of the school.
What many do not know is that behind all that, police armor Officer White lives a double life as an actor and comedian. White has been performing stand up comedy and has been involved in small time films for seven years.
“I fell in love the first time I got on the stage and didn’t want to get off,” said White.
White has traveled to California, Las Vegas, and up and down the East Coast. He has been on comedy tours with one of the Kings of Comedy; D.L. Hughley, the R&B sensation Eric Benet, and the Funkmaster George Clinton. He has even got to hang out with one of the biggest comedians today, Kevin Hart.
White said as a child he had always been funny and loved to make people laugh. As he got older and would tell people about his life and things that happened while growing up people always said he was funny. So he started writing and making jokes to perform on stages. “I got really good reactions so I kept doing it,” said White.
White said the students of Athens Drive are a big inspiration for the jokes he uses.
“There are so many thing that occur, a lot of times I have to get my phone out and voice record what happened so I won’t forget,” said White.
Alonya Muhammad, sophomore, said “it’s kind of ironic because police are usually serious, but White has such a great sense of humor.”
Muhammad said she did not know White was a comedian, but says it makes sense because he always keeps her laughing. White’s humor is very natural and not put on for show.
When White first started stand up, he said it was fun and gave him an adrenaline rush.
“My jokes were not structured, and I just got them off the top of my head,” White said. Through the years, White has studied himself and other artists to make his jokes the funniest they can be for his audience.
When it comes to telling jokes, White said, “A lot of what I say is true, but sometimes I may have just thought something up from my imagination.”
White has been a police officer for 14 years this June, and as much as he loves to protect and serve, he said he would really like to pursue comedy as a full time job. “God puts you in a situation for you to succeed and I have been making people laugh all my life and I believe it’s a gift from God,” said White.
