Lamar White

Frederick Lamar White, Jr. (born May 5, 1982) is an award-winning American social and political activist, writer, blogger, law student, researcher, and social media personality from Louisiana. All told, White's work has been read by approximately 750,000-900,000 people.
White launched the eponymously titled website CenLamar in March of 2006. His personal essays, blogs, and research articles have been covered and attributed by a variety of national and international news publications, including ABC News, FOX News, Wonkette, the Washington Post , and Esquire .
In 2008, White was selected as the official "blogger" for the State of Louisiana at the Democratic National Convention in Denver, Colorado.
In 2010, White's work on the BP oil spill was recognized by the White House, who invited him on a coast guard tour of the disaster scene.
In 2012, White earned national attention after the death of provocative web journalist Andrew Breitbart. White was the last person to communicate with Breitbart on Twitter, less than an hour before Breitbart's sudden death.
Personal Life
White was born in Alexandria, Louisiana. His father, Lamar White, Sr., was a real estate developer who died at the age of forty-one, and his mother, Carol Rhodes White, is an investor and entrepreneur currently living in Dallas.
White graduated from Alexandria Senior High School in 2000, and he subsequently enrolled in Rice University in Houston, Texas, earning dual degrees in English and Religious Studies. White is currently a third-year law student at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas. While a student at Rice, White studied under fiction writers Justin Cronin and Rick Moody. White has a younger brother, Mark, and a younger sister, Emily.
White was born with a mild form of spastic diplegia cerebral palsy, though he lives independently and functions without the need for assistance. White frequently writes about his experience as a disabled American.
From 2006-2011, White served as the Special Assistant and Deputy Director of Policy for Alexandria, Louisiana mayor Jacques Roy.
Education Reform
White's work and research on Governor Bobby Jindal's education reform policies and initiatives have garnered national attention. In 2012, White revealed that Leonard Lucas, a New Orleans-area preacher who called himself a "prophet," had qualified to receive nearly $400,000 in state voucher funding for his religious school. . In 2013, White again garnered national attention after reporting on a proposal in the Louisiana House of Representatives to mandate the recitation of the Lord's Prayer in public schools. .
A few months later, White published the transcript of a Louisiana State Senator who justified his support of a creationism law by revealing an encounter he had with a witch doctor; the story was subsequently covered in the Washington Post. .
Science Advocacy
In early 2011, White began working with Zack Kopplin, a young science education advocate from Louisiana who had recently launched a campaign to repeal the Louisiana Science Education Act, a law generally recognized as an attempt to allow New Earth or Biblical creationism in the public school science classroom. White and Kopplin collaborated on a series of research projects on creationism in the public school classroom and the ways in which school voucher programs fund creationism education. Their research has been the subject of national and international acclaim and has propelled Kopplin into a science education "celebrity" activist, having appeared as the youngest-ever guest on the HBO show Real Time With Bill Maher and earning cover stories in the Houston Press and the Houston Chronicle. White is currently working with Kopplin to launch a non-profit organization, the Second Giant Leap, which focuses on science funding and advocacy. In addition, White is a national member of the Board of Directors for the Secular Student Alliance.
White's research on science education policy has been covered by PZ Myers , the Richard Dawkins Foundation , and Diane Ravitch .
Awards
White is the winner of the 2012 Ashley Morris award, given in honor of the person who best exemplifies the culture and the spirit of Louisiana.

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