Rev. Victor White, Sr. and his family have been demanding answers from the Iberia Parish Sherriff’s Department since his son’s tragic death, March 3, 2014, which was ruled a suicide. Rev. White has mentioned many times that his son is not “Houdini”, explaining that it was impossible for his son to have killed himself with his hands cuffed to the back and a gunshot wound that entered through the front. “Nineteen months later and I still have no answers as to why my son was killed,” said Rev. White, addressing how it hasn’t gotten any easier to talk about his son.
Deborah Muhammad, along with men and women from the Nation of Islam, attended the Oct. 17 rally. Ms. Muhammad and Daryl Muhammad were the first to interview Rev. White on their bi-weekly television show, the Community Defender in Lafayette, La., she said.
“It was the first time we talked about what has been labeled the “Houdini” murder. We invited Rev. White and his family to be guests of the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan in Houston while on his regional Justice Or Else tour,” added Ms. Muhammad.
She commended Rev. White and his wife for being so vigilant, persistent, and present in making sure there is justice for their son and that he is not forgotten. Support Ms. Muhammad says she will continue to give until he gets justice.
“I was asked to come down when the story first broke,” said Rev. Raymond Brown, national president of National Action Now, a civil rights organization based in New Orleans. “I was the first civil rights activist to call for an independent investigation into Victor White’s death. We began holding press conferences until we received national coverage, but the case never got the attention like Michael Brown or Eric Garner,” he added.
Rev. Brown, standing before the body of protesters also demanded that the head of the Louisiana State Police, Mike Edmonson, release the names of the police officers who arrested Victor White, III that night. “Every police officer or officers who are accused of murdering a Black man in America names are released to the public except here in Louisiana,” he stated. “So you go tell Mike Edmonson to release the names and you tell him Rev. Brown said it!”